DONCASTER Rovers manager Grant McCann has revealed that a number of rival bosses made a beeline for him at a recent EFL managers' meeting - to congratulate him for signing Isaac Hutchinson.

Rovers forked out a significant fee to land the Bristol Rovers midfielder. The deal represents Rovers' biggest outlay since signing Ben Whiteman back in 2018.

McCann had tracked Hutchinson for some time, putting considerable effort into recruiting the 26-year-old, who scored 18 goals on loan at Cheltenham Town last term.

Hutchinson's arrival has been the marquee arrival in an extensive summer of recruitment, with nine signings having so far arrived. It owes plenty to Rovers' planning ahead, according to McCann.

Doncaster Rovers signing Isaac Hutchinson. Picture courtesy of DRFC.

placeholder image — Doncaster Rovers signing Isaac Hutchinson. Picture courtesy of DRFC.

McCann told The Yorkshire Post: "I actually went to a manager's meeting and a lot of the managers in the room were saying to me: 'That's a good signing. We tried to get him.'

"So I knew he'd got a lot of interest in him. So I'm going to say I'm pleased."

On Rovers' planning foresight regarding recruitment - exemplified again this week with winger Jordan Thomas lined up ahead of Luke Molyneux's move to Salford City - he continued: "I've seen it at clubs where there's been a scattergun approach. We knew exactly what we needed to do, probably from the last kick of the season, or even before that.

"When players left, we knew right away what we needed to do the day after. That gives us and the recruitment team a licence to go and get our targets.

Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

"With some of them, you have to be more patient than others.

"As always, you're fighting against different competition. Maybe all of the signings we have made, we have had competition. All real competition." Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, with Rovers holding regular recruitment get-togethers.

A key meeting involving McCann, head of recruitment Lee Glover and chief executive Gavin Baldwin took place within 24 hours of last season ending.

Owner Terry Bramall has also been on board with the process and remains a big proponent of planning ahead.

Baldwin added: "The players were presented in line with the budget that Terry had already agreed, because Terry had been operating two months in advance.

"The players were presented four and eight weeks (before). It's not some random thing, when some agent rings in. It feels so planned and Terry's got the confidence in saying: 'yeah, go on then, go and do it.'

"If it wasn't that planned; because I've been in it before where it didn't work, then Terry starts getting nervous, and therefore the money gets released piecemeal.

"But because of the confidence he's got in Grant and his team, and the amount of planning that goes into it, it's just become an easier process.

"At the end of the (Hutchinson) negotiation Grant put into the group chat 'great negotiation, well done lads'. Although Grant was actually at the front of the negotiation, I think it's important to note from my perspective, Isaac made it easy for us.

"He just turned down every other club because he wanted to come to Doncaster Rovers.

"So I think although Grant deserves credit; from my perspective it was easy. It's really easy when you've got players who are going to turn down every other club.

"So I think he (Hutchinson) deserves credit. Also, there's a reason why he wanted to come to Doncaster Rovers and not other clubs and that's because (of Grant)."