Richie Wellens on the lack of a midfield talisman in his Doncaster Rovers side

The Rovers boss admits he is lacking a deeper lying midfielder to shield the defence and spark attacking play, as well as being a vocal presence in the middle of the park.

Wellens hopes to bring in that sort of player in the January window but in the meantime has called upon his other midfielders to add some of those much-needed characteristics to their game.

“Absolutely we are,” Wellens told the Free Press when asked if he was missing a midfield talisman. “But we haven’t got that person so we need people to develop it.

“It’s an issue we want to address in January because I do think it would improve everyone around it if we had the figure who could knit the game together and also be an influence vocally to everyone around them.

“In the meantime, we need Ethan Galbraith to grow, we need Ben Close to grow, we need Matt Smith to grow.

“I do think that figure needs to be a midfielder.”

Wellens rejected the suggestion Rovers could be in for more painful afternoons as they await the arrival of the figure in question.

Rovers lacked spark in the second half against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday as they attempted to battle back from two goals down but Wellens was pleased with the overall performance.

He said: “Was it pain? It was a decent performance and we’ve lost to a team that was relegated from the Championship and whoever finishes above them will be promoted.”

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