Doncaster Rovers v Shrewsbury Town: We are ‘not a relegation squad’ says Gary McSheffrey

That is the view of interim manager Gary McSheffrey, whose main priority during his temporary spell is to get Rovers believing in themselves again.

That will be no easy task, as McSheffrey looks to help Doncaster end a run of five straight defeats in all competitions.

The South Yorkshire outfit also find themselves bottom of the League One table with almost half of the season completed.

“It’s just about getting them to believe in themselves more again,” said McSheffrey.

“That’s the biggest thing – self belief, believing in your team-mates, staying together.

“It’s my biggest goal in this short-term period.

“When there’s a few more additions, even if it’s not everyone being fit, for me it’s not a relegation squad.”

Doncaster’s latest defeat came against Oxford United on Tuesday night but McSheffrey was encouraged by some elements of that performance.

They host a Shrewsbury Town side this afternoon who are only six points better off at this stage, but who have won two of their last three fixtures.

“I think a few really came on and grabbed the game by the scuff of the neck against a really good Oxford team,” McSheffrey reflected of Tuesday’s loss.

“They made them have to up their game in the last five when they got the winner.

“We made them look normal while we were decent.

“They were normal for long periods in that second half.

“I saw it coming back. The contrast from the first half to the second half was unreal.

“It shows that a couple of things on the pitch and maybe a bit more presence coming off the bench changed things.

“But the self-belief was back and we have to go into Saturday ready to start that way and get it for a longer period – two halves hopefully.

“We’ll be going into the game looking for the three points and I think we’ve got the quality as well.”