'Reality check' - Grant McCann's honest verdict after Doncaster Rovers' loss to Wigan Athletic

Rovers went into the automatic promotion spots last weekend but came back down to earth with a 3-0 loss at the Brick Community Stadium.

Rovers felt they should have been awarded a penalty early on when Luke Molyneux appeared to be fouled in the box. But after appeals were waved away they quickly found themselves 2-0 down within the first 15 minutes after goals from Dara Costelloe and Matt Smith. Another goal for the hosts arrived just after the break - Fraser Murray's long-ranger - to kill off any hopes of a comeback.

"We got well beaten," McCann admitted. "Wigan were better in every department than us today, every aspect of the game. I won't stand here and hide behind mistakes. They were better, it's as simple as that.

"We weren't anywhere near where I know we can be. They were more intense, aggressive and we didn't show intensity going forward.

"It was a stonewall penalty. How the referee doesn't give it, I don't know. The referee was so close to it. Luke was clipped on his blind-side in the box. It's frustrating because you hope those big moments, away from home, go for you but that went against us."

"We're not hiding behind that but goals change the dynamic of games and if we get that penalty it could have been different but ultimately we were second-best all over the pitch today.

"Hopefully this is a bit of a reality check for us. When you're not anywhere near the levels you can be, then this is what happens in League One.

"I couldn't see that fire in the players' eyes today to get back into the game. Wigan were more aggressive and played with more tempo. Every aspect or metric you look at, they did better than us and that probably hurts me more because I can live with teams outpass and outplay and are completely better than you. But today they did the basics better than us which means we ultimately lost the game."

Goalkeeper Thimothee Lo-Tutala made an error for the Wigan opener and elected to punch rather than claim a cross that ultimatley led to Smith's strike. Despite that, McCann refused to criticise any individual.

He added: "I don't want to talk about my players like that. Everyone makes mistakes on a football pitch, we make mistakes on the bench. When we win we win together and when we lose we lose together so that's where we are."