Doncaster Rovers v Grimsby Town: Grant McCann wants improvement in both boxes after Salford City defeat

Positivity generated by back-to-back wins was swiftly eroded in midweek, when Doncaster slumped to a 3-0 home defeat to Salford City.

McCann’s men saw more of the ball and had more shots, but fell victim to the sharper clinical edge displayed by their opponents.

Towering forward Matt Smith, formerly of Leeds United, notched all three goals.

Speaking ahead of Doncaster’s return to action, McCann told the club’s official website: “I’ve got real faith in the group. No one was losing their heads in the changing room.

"We know we actually played quite well between both boxes but in the final third we let ourselves down and obviously in defending those crosses.

“We’ve got to keep building on that control we’ve had. We know over the last nine or ten games, results have been good.

“No one is throwing any toys out of the pram. We’ll stay nice and controlled and calm but the players know it has to be better at both ends of the pitch.

“We want to be much better than what we showed in both boxes. This group is good at bouncing back and hopefully we can do it on Saturday.”

Doncaster’s patchy form has left them stranded in the bottom half of the League Two table.

They occupy 18th place but there are just eight points separating Doncaster and the final play-off spot.

McCann said: “I’ve got to give this group credit because they’ve gone and gone and gone in game after game.

“We’ve had very limited options in terms of chopping and changing and trying to make an impact on games.

“It’s a massive task we’re asking of them but they’re very robust and they keep getting on with it.

“We just let ourselves down with what we did in our own box and with what we did in attack.”