Doncaster Rovers set for League One reward after not losing their heads in 2025-26

Before the New Year's Day action, Rovers were second from bottom and things were looking grim in all honesty.

They were two points and one place behind arch-rivals Rotherham United. As for weekend opponents Northampton Town? Rovers were five points and four places adrift of the Cobblers, having played a game more.

Fast forward to now. In a week that saw Rotherham relegated alongside Northampton, Grant McCann's side find themselves in lower mid-table. The two aforementioned clubs now trail them in the table by 16 and 18 points respectively.

Rovers aren't quite there in terms of confirming their League One status just yet, but they would have taken this back on January 1, for sure.

They are six points above the team occupying the final relegation spot in Exeter City, with a game in hand. The Grecians have just three matches left.

Should safety be secured, as most expect, it will prove a textbook lesson in how not to lose your heads in mid-season.

The club's winter window work was strategic. Players were identified in key positions; Neill Byrne has been a successful signing in particular, while the window was topped off with the capture of Elliot Lee as the club moved swiftly on deadline day.

Perhaps more importantly, the passage of time has enabled existing players to fully assimilate at third-tier level and step up from League Two.

Chief among them is rejuvenated midfielder Robbie Gotts, who has found his niche as a deep-lying midfielder with an insatiable appetite for work and making life uncomfortable for opponents.

Aside from the odd outlier - the games at Exeter and Wycombe - Rovers had been hard to play against in League One circles in 2026.

The players fight for each other too. They have won eight league matches so far this year; seven have been by a single goal margin, including the last six.

Emblematic of the Rovers story since January, Gotts said: "It's been a step up but I feel like that in the second half of the season we've realised there isn't too much in it (League One).

"Maybe it was in our heads a little bit at the start of the season. But I feel like we've got our head around that. We're in the league and we should be competing up there.

"I feel like we're just playing to our strengths (now). For example, when we're going long with the ball and it's working, keep doing it and sticking it on teams because we've got real good energy about the squad, landing on second balls and doing the basics quite well.

"I think we've done that better. Just mixing it up a little bit at times as well and having different game plans I suppose. It's doing your research on the teams beforehand, taking that seriously and exploiting their weaknesses."

Continuously reviewing your own personal development is another element, certainly for Gotts.

The one-time Leeds United man continued: "I do four-game reviews now with the analysts and that's really helped me.

"Almost every game I play, I think about what we've said in our meetings, I've really started focussing on the little details.

"I'm really happy to see the work pay off that I've put in."

Rovers' strong availability record under respected head of medical Dave Rennie is another important factor in the 2025-26 story.

The club have significantly upgraded their facilities over the past year, with a new, state-of-the-art gym and medical building recently opened at their Cantley Park training ground.

In the canteen, a 22-game league table, which has been regularly updated since January - is there for all to see. It has also proved a smart tactic, from a psychological aspect.

The ability of McCann and his management team to stay calm - and those in the powers of corridor not to panic amid troubled times late last year either - has also been fundamentally important.

Assistant boss Cliff Byrne said: "The manager has taken the lead on that.

"We had to quickly assess what happened in the first half of the season when we felt we were coming up short - even though we started the season really well. Then, we had a dip off and found it difficult to get that form.

"The manager was really good in having a mini reset leading up to the window in January and then setting targets as we go through and setting the league table and the lads have responded excellently to that. There's been a real calmness.

"Yes, there's been disappointments along the way. But the manager, since I have worked with him, always tries to maintain that when we win, we don't get too high and when we lose, it's not the end of the world either."