‘I want to be an all-rounder’ – Niall Ennis on goalscoring at Doncaster Rovers

The on loan Wolverhampton Wanderers striker has managed one goal in 14 appearances so far for Rovers but has made telling contributions with hold-up play and off-the-ball work in his time at the Keepmoat.

After returning from injury which has kept him out for six weeks, the 20-year-old is looking to make a bigger goalscoring contribution over the next few months – without forgoing the work he has done so far.

“I try to be an all-round striker because I’m a lone striker in some of the formations that we use,” Ennis said.

“I want to be able to hold the ball up but I want to score goals as well.

“It’s about making sure I hold the ball up and then when I lay it off, I get into the right positions to be able to get the goals for the wins.

“That's what I’ll hopefully be doing when I get back in.”

Ennis believes the experience he is earning up against experienced League One centre halves is improving him as a striker, particularly with hold-up play.

And he admits he is learning about more of the ‘dark arts’ used by defenders to stop strikers in their tracks – as well as how to combat them.

“There’s been a few incidents of little off-the-ball stuff and I’m not saying it's about me elbowing them back but maybe I can do things to distract them so I can get across them,” he said.

“It’s about the little things that I can do to make sure I’m helping the team.

“That’s what I want to do.

“I think now I’m in the men’s game, the real professional games, I’m playing against centre backs who are probably in their prime and used to the league.

“Maybe when I’m playing in the U23s, I’m up against someone younger than me.

“Now I’m up against people who really want to stop me scoring in their goal for important reasons.

“It’s helping me know how to position my body and things like that so it’s good.”