Tommy Rowe reveals what drove him to signing new deal at Doncaster Rovers - and he hopes his teammates feel the same

And the 33-year-old hopes his Doncaster Rovers teammates feel the same sense of responsibility following relegation from League One.

Rovers’ stand-in captain has also called on his colleagues to individually and collectively raise standards and use last season’s disappointment as motivation for the forthcoming campaign.

Rowe signed a new extended contract at Rovers last week - tying him to the club until at least the summer of 2024.

“When you have such a bad season there’s no way you can go home and not take it with you,” said Rowe, speaking to the local media.

“I like to evaluate and review seasons and over the last five or six weeks it sits with you and you then use that as a motivation tool.

“I hope to think that the rest of the team have done this too and it drives us to come back in good shape and also determined to push up standards that probably weren’t as high last season.

“When standards, technique and tactics are high and you have that mental resolve you don’t usually have these disappointing seasons. For whatever reason, we did.

“We need to now use that to drive the standards and the culture and I’m hoping the rest of the squad have that mindset.”

Former Peterborough United, Wolves and Bristol City midfielder Rowe was playing in the Championship before returning to Rovers for a second spell last summer.

But he says his attachment to Rovers – who he described as ‘sleeping giants’ – and his desire to make amends for last season was the logic behind extending his stay at the Eco-Power Stadium.

“I think it’s a perfect fit in terms of where I’m at in my career,” said Rowe.

“The only downside for me is my ambition is to always play at the highest level.

“This is the second time I’ve dropped down to this level to try and get back up. People could say you’re going for an unrealistic plan for what you want.

“But I have a real passion for doing the right thing at the right time. Sometimes you have to sacrifice things in life.

“It doesn’t make much sense for me just to be at a certain level with no purpose. The bigger meaning here is seeing where the club are and also taking ownership for what happened last season and going through what we did.

“The bigger picture is that there’s a fan base here and there’s a club that are sleeping giants if you like.

“If we can start now and have a successful season in whatever form that is, that’s what drove me towards signing.”

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