Grant McCann comes out fighting with rallying cry to Doncaster Rovers fans amid wretched run

Rovers head to fellow strugglers Blackpool on Boxing Day with just one win in their last 14 league games. Their most recent outing saw them outclassed by Plymouth Argyle as they fell to a sobering 5-1 home defeat. The last two seasons have seen Rovers recover from below-par starts to post excellent second halves of the campaign - largely after profitable January transfer dealings.

The hope among many fans is that that is the case once more as the team looks to rise up the League One standings in their first season back at this level following promotion. For McCann, he remains steadfast in his belief that things will, ultimately, come good.

Speaking to the Free Press ahead of the trip to Bloomfield Road, the Northern Irishman added a long-term slant when reflecting on recent struggles: "We've been here two-and-a-half years now and if I'm going to be totally honest with you, when we came into the football club it was an absolute car crash.

"The place was disjointed. There was no harmony whatsoever in the place. And we had to fight tooth and nail for four or five months to put ourselves in a place where we could actually go and win football games.

"And we did that in the second half of the season.

"I think now is a time where people need to stick with us and help us and support us - not put a knife in our back and twist it, because that's not going to help anyone. But if they want to keep doing that, then I've done it all my whole career and I've got a group of staff and a group of players who love to prove people wrong. And that's what we're aiming to do."

McCann says he understands the frustrations of the fans, but insists unity is imperative in getting back on track.

He added: "There's some young players in the group and they probably don't take criticism lightly and it can affect them. So I think we need to realise where we are and where we've come from. I know it (table) can look horrendous at this moment in time, but we've played 30 games this season. We've won 14, we've lost 12 and drawn four. That's in all competitions.

"There's a lot to do, a lot to work on, a lot to get better at. January's around the corner and for sure we'll strengthen the group but there would be nothing better than to get us all singing from the same hymn sheet.

"And I'm talking all of us - the players, the fans, the whole football club. Because we're not going to be successful if it's just us or just the fans and just us as a staff or players. We have to be successful together.

"And I get it, it's what we do in the football pitch - and we're working ever so hard to try and do that."