Tom Anderson on embracing elder statesman status at Doncaster Rovers

And he says he has embraced the status and all that comes with being one of the more experienced players in the squad.

When he converted his loan into a permanent deal with Rovers in 2018 Anderson was cutting ties with boyhood club Burnley and stepping away to pursue a career in earnest.

Just two years on, and at the age of 27, he is now looked upon to help guide younger players down the right path.

And the pace of change in his own life has caught even him off guard.

“I realised in pre-season, even before Butts [Andy Butler] came in and I was looking around and thinking I’m the third oldest here,” he said.

“It shows that bit of change that you go through at a certain point in your career where you’ve been the one that’s going for advice and all of a sudden you have to start giving it to younger lads like Danny Amos, Lirak [Hasani], Ravs [Liam Ravenhill] and try to help them become better players and give them my experience.

The return of Butler to the club this summer has given the likes of Anderson another source of knowledge to mine. The no-nonsense centre half also cites manager Darren Moore as invaluable in his progression on the pitch in the last 18 months.

But as he continues to improve, he is looking to add to his own leadership qualities and follow in the footsteps of those who have helped shape his career.

“It’s massive having Butts here,” Anderson said.

“If he comes to you, you listen. Without blowing smoke up him too much, if he talks, you listen.

“If we want to speak to anyone, that’s who we speak to.

“I had it at Burnley with Michael Duff, who’s now the Cheltenham manager, who was very good with me.

“He would tell me if I did something wrong but he’d explain it. When people do that, you’ve got to learn from it and take it on board.

“I want to do that too.”

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