Regardless of what happens from here, it's been a good season for Doncaster Rovers: Liam Hoden column

It might not be the most popular view and certainly should not be taken as any suggestion of a lack of desire for a promotion push.

But given where Rovers have come from over the last eight months, the efforts of the team and management should not be downplayed.

Hammering home that point is the fact that Rovers are only one point worse off right now than they were at the same stage last season.

Last season: P34 W15 D10 L9 F60 A43 Pts55

This season: P34 W15 D9 L10 F51 A33 Pts54

This is despite the turmoil of last summer - losing a manager; a large part of the core of the squad departing, particularly those with experience; the end of loans for players so key to the success of last year; the exit of a striker that had scored 60-odd goals over three seasons.

Darren Moore inherited a shell of a squad, and at short notice too.

He did what he could in August to put a squad together, enduring bad luck over transfer targets and with injuries in the subsequent weeks.

It effectively meant that for the first half of the season Rovers operated without an out-and-out striker.

Yet, they are just a single point behind where they were at last season - a campaign that few would suggest was anything other than highly successful.

A young squad of players has taken on board a new style of play and new methods of working and had a good degree of success having done so.

And the youth side of things is important - this feels like a campaign that Rovers can only build on, regardless of what happens over the next couple of months.

Loan players will return to their parent clubs but Moore has shown a sharp eye so far, suggesting that replacements will slot in as seamlessly as those used this season have.

If it is only the beginning, it’s not a bad start. If this season becomes even better, it only gets more remarkable.

This has been a successful season for Rovers.