DONCASTER Rovers manager Grant McCann hailed the application and endeavour of his players, who cast aside an awful pre-match preparation – which saw them stranded on the side of the M62 due to a broken down coach – to chisel out a fine point at promotion chasing Bolton Wanderers.

Rovers had to wait around 25 minutes for a replacement coach, but when their trip to the north west proved a productive one as they took something away from Bolton for the first time since May 1987 to boost their League One survival hopes.

It was a night when in-form midfielder Robbie Gotts was again singled out for special praise by McCann, whose side extended their unbeaten sequence to three matches, with the 0-0 draw putting them in renewed heart for Saturday’s derby trip to Barnsley.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, McCann said: "They are a top team. I said to the players in there, we shouldn’t be on the pitch with teams like this, given what they are paying their players.

Doncaster Rovers manager Grant McCann (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

placeholder image — Doncaster Rovers manager Grant McCann (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

"I said to the lads: ‘That’s what you can do when you have got a real togetherness and belief’.

"I thought there were some top performers. Gottsy was sensational and Mols (Luke Molyneux) looked really threatening.

"All this with a disrupted travel we’ve had again because of the bus breaking down and having to stand on the M62 for 25 minutes waiting for another bus. It was really good character from the boys.

"I thought it was a really good performance. We showed calmness and bravery at times.

Doncaster Rovers' Robbie Gotts takes on Cardiff's Joel Colwill. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

"When you come to a stadium like this; I don’t know how many were here, I’m sure there were over 20,000, you have to show that calmness and bravery on the ball and can’t just get rid of it.

"It was a nice pitch to pass the ball about and I thought we did that in spells. But we knew Bolton are a really good possession based team and we had to make sure the structure of the team was right. I thought we were better in the second half and we looked more threatening.

"From an away performance, it was very, very good and we defended excellently against one of the highest scoring teams in the division.

Rovers find themselves in 17th place in League One, three points above the side occupying the final relegation place in Blackpool, with a game in hand.