'No pressure' - Darren Moore talks the search for a Ben Whiteman replacement at Doncaster Rovers

Darren Moore says he does not feel pressure to quickly find a replacement suitable for Ben Whiteman’s position in his Doncaster Rovers side.
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Moore is confident he has players within his squad to fill the role of the midfielder, who departed for Preston North End earlier this week.

But he insists he will assess what players are available on the market - and will only make additions that will improve on what he already has at his disposal.

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“We can look at that position that Ben vacates but also we have players that have played there,” he told the Free Press.

Darren MooreDarren Moore
Darren Moore

“Reading into some of the tactics I’ve used, you can see that we have other players that can play in that position and have been capable when they’ve been in there.

“I’ve had to rotate how I see fit for working against teams tactically.

“The good thing about it is that when players have gone in there, it hasn’t just been a knee-jerk reaction. It’s been something that we’ve worked on and implemented since pre-season.

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“It’s not just one or two individuals - every single one of them knows the roles and responsibilities because it’s what we pride ourselves on and work towards in training on a daily basis.

“Looking at that, it’s about looking at what we’ve got available within the squad as well as putting out feelers and seeing what is available out there.

“We always try to bring players into the team that have the potential to take us forward.”

Though he has lost arguably the man that has been the most important in his side since Moore’s arrival at the club, the Rovers boss does not feel that he is required to call on his other players to step up following Whiteman’s departure.

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And he is confident they made a strong start to life without Whiteman in last weekend’s win over Blackburn Rovers.

“We saw players step up last week and what a match that was at Blackburn,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone needs to step up because we’ve seen from the course of the season that the players are capable.

“If you look at all the stats, you can see Ben is a great player and he’s been very important for us.

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“But I’d like to think that with the style of play we have, it has helped bring those stats up for him because not only the player that he is but also that he was in the right system.

“That system is there and we tweak it from time to time but the players understand that.

“The players went into last week’s game without him and did very well.

“There were hopefully signs that while he isn’t there, the system is very much in place and the other players are plying their trade in there.

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“That will continue. We’ll look within the squad and we’ll rotate one or two that can play in that position and take it from there.

“It’s not a case of anyone saying ‘this is me now.’ It’s more of a team effort.”

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In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.