Bury v Doncaster Rovers: Desperate Doncaster look to Williams for a spark

Rovers are reeling amid their worst run of form since their catastrophic relegation out of the Football League in 1997-98, when everything that could go wrong invariably did, with time running out regarding their divisional status this time around a level up.

Darren Ferguson’s side, 15 League One matches without a win having taken a pitiful haul of four points from the last 45, know that only a win will do at Gigg Lane today – a venue where they have lost on seven of their last eight visits.

A heart-breaking late equaliser just down the road at Rochdale denied Rovers a win for the first time since January 2 last weekend and while their survival prospects are increasingly bleak, Ferguson is not throwing in the towel. Ferguson, whose 22nd-placed side are seven points adrift of safety, albeit with a game in hand on fifth-from-bottom Blackpool, said: “The only thing we want to focus on is getting a level performance.

“We have shown the determination to get out of the position we are in, which is obviously a difficult situation, no-one is getting away from that.”

If Rovers are to somehow miraculously save their season, much is likely to depend on the scoring prowess of 14-goal top-scorer Andy Williams, who has suffered along with his team-mates during the side’s desperate run.

You have to go back for January 16 for the last time the striker found the net, but Ferguson has detected some signs of improvement from the forward at least in the past two games which offers an inkling of hope.

Ferguson said: “Andy’s performances in general in the past two games have been better and he’s kept the ball very well for us and given us a platform.

“He had two very good chances last Saturday and you just want one to go in because he is the one who you look at and think that if he gets a goal, he is capable of going on a run. He’s shown that.

“He just has to keep working hard and making sure he gets in those positions.

“It was more of a worry when he wasn’t even getting any chances. At least, he’s getting the chances now.

“Like the rest of us, Andy has been frustrated with certain things. But he’s a strong character and I am sure he will be fine.”