TEAM MATES: Chris Brown picks his stand out Doncaster Rovers colleagues from his time at the club

Here, he sets out to laud a selection of his former Rovers team mates that stand out in his memories of his time at the club.

But the striker admits he was keen to avoid saying the name that is on the lips of any player who has featured for the club in the last 16 years.

He said: “I’m going to try to think outside the box a bit because I bet everyone says Copps.”

Here are Brown’s selections:

ROB JONES

“Both as a player and a leader. When he took us up, he was unbelievable with me. He knew what he was getting and he just let us do it. He knew how to manage us. He led by example and also, he was a motivator. A lot of those lads would run through a brick wall for him.”

TOMMY SPURR

“You’d want him in the trenches with you all day long. He’s a good mate. He didn’t see fear. He was one of the few players that I played with that just didn’t see fear. There’d be times that I’d have to look away when he was going into tackles, but that is what you want as a manager and a team mate. He’s someone you’d go to war.”

BILLY PAYNTER

“He was a good player and off the pitch he was just brilliant. We get on really well, even though we were in the same position, vying for the same spot. We were thick as thieves. In terms of characters in the changing room that season we went up, he was unbelievable whether he was in the team or not.”

LEE BUTLER - former Rovers goalkeeping coach

“He wasn’t a player but that year we went up he was a 12th man for us. He put the hard work in but it was more than that. He was a friend to a lot of the lads. He used to muck in with the kit. He was our 12th man.”

READ MORE: Previous Team Mates contributors

James Coppinger

Rob Jones

Graeme Lee

Billy Paynter

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