Doncaster Rovers coach Danny Schofield will look for attacking recruits in January but reinforcements come first from treatment room

Tommy Rowe and Joseph Olowu were back in training this week and are in contention for Saturday's trip to bottom-of-League Two Colchester United.

In the longer term, coach Schofield was playing his cards close to his chest about what Rovers will look to do in the mid-season transfer market as they try to push into the play-offs, but they will also have to be on guard to keep their best players with Kyle Knoyle catching the eye.

The wing-back has six assists already this season, and a contract that expires at the end of it.

"In the short-term we'll discuss that with the club and see the players we want to commit to in terms of contracts but Kyle will certainly be one we have discussions about," confirmed Schofield

"We've had sit-downs to discuss squad planning, players we want to extend contracts, potential players to add to the squad. Discussions have begun and will grow into more detail as the season goes on.

"My main focus is keeping the players as fit as possible and performing to their maximum."

In that respect it has been a good week, with striker Josh Andrews and Ollie Younger the only players definitively ruled out of the trip to Layer Road and even the central defender back in light training after a hamstring rupture.

Olowu and Rowe could make long-awaited returns.

"They've both trained fine," said coach Schofield of the pair.

"Joseph, we've just monitored his heading and his aerial duals with it being a problem with his eye socket/cheekbone.

"He's not done too much of that but he was been exposed to it a little on Wednesday and he's been fine."

And whilst he was reluctant to go into specifics, Schofield will look to add attacking options to his squad in January, especially after Lee Tomlin’s retirement in October.

"We're always looking to improve and push the players in the building and it's important to do that with competition in the squad so there are certain areas we've been discussing," said Schofield.

"I think it's an area every coach looks at, people who can really impact a game in an attacking sense with an assist or a goal, a moment of quality."

As his job title suggests, Schofield is more about coaching the players he is presented with than signing them, and last week's 3-1 win at Grimsby Town was a sign that the players are getting to grips with what he wants from them.

"I'm quite big on changing the tempo within a game, not just constantly playing at 100mph," he said.

"It's about having lots of understanding of what the game demands at that moment in time. We speak a lot about control and advantage – control when we have got the ball, control when we haven't got the ball but always looking to create an advantage for us.

"Every pass a player gives to a team-mate must give that player an advantage to progress.

"In general it is a good, open group who want to learn and improve."