Worrying Doncaster Rovers admission made after Exeter defeat as Jay McGrath decision explained

McCann watched his team suffer a 3-0 defeat in Devon. It was a second straight loss for Rovers, after the Good Friday home reverse to Mansfield, and they're now just four points clear of the Grecians who occupy the final berth in the League One relegation places.

The hosts opened the scoring when Jayden Wareham - a livewire all day - took advantage of a slip by Owen Bailey and fired home late in the first half. Sub Josh Magennis made it 2-0 not long after his introduction as he rifled home after Rovers failed to deal with a simple throw-in. Wareham then added gloss late on with a close-range finish in the second phase of a corner to compound Rovers' afternoon.

"They just nudged us and knocked us off the ball as if we weren't there and it happened all day," McCann admitted. "It happened with Magennis against Bails and he slammed the ball into the net for the second. But that was all over the pitch. They physically had too much for us and we couldn't cope. Their intensity was higher than ours all day.

"We didn't look like laying any sort of glove on them today. We looked really lethargic and slow. And we can't make the pitch an excuse because it's like a bowling green. They (Exeter) just wanted it more than us."

Rovers saw two of their defenders go off injured at St James Park with both Neill Byrne and Matty Pearson both departing the action in the first half. Byrne's withdrawal was owing to a hamstring-related concern whilst Pearson suffered a dead leg after an incident early on where he appeared to be pushed by Wareham.

McCann raised eyebrows by not bringing on Jay McGrath - the only recognised centre-back on the bench - at either juncture. Instead, he opted to bring on Jamie Sterry and then Elliot Lee with Bailey slotting into the middle of a back three. Quizzed on the decision to overlook McGrath, who did eventually get on the pitch in the second half, McCann replied: "I just felt Bails was a better option in the middle at that time. He has played there before (in a three-man defence) as has Jack Senior and Jamie.

"We wanted to keep the ball today, on this pitch and I thought we did but we didn't go anywhere with it at times. We seemed to keep it for the sake of keeping it. But if anything had have happened to Jack (Senior) then Jay would probably have come on (earlier). But Jack was fine so that's all it was."

On Pearson and Byrne, McCann added: "Matty had to come off because Wareham pushed him straight into Timmy (Lo-Tutala) and he's got a dead leg and Neill's come off with his hamstring so we'll see how they are."

Rovers host Reading next Saturday.