Doncaster Rovers: Why Gary McSheffrey is hoping to be ‘chucked in at deep end’

Rovers are close to announcing a new manager but have ‘t’s to cross and ‘i’s to dot.

It could be McSheffrey in permanent charge when Sunderland visit the rebranded Eco-Power Stadium for Monday’s early kick-off. With the quick turnaround, the caretaker could be asked to continue minding the shop for whoever beats him to the job, or he could be back in the ranks, a sounding board for the new man or just plain old Under-18s manager again.

He will deal with whichever it is as calmly as he has dealt with another week of things going wrong for the relegation-threatened League One side.

Captain Tom Anderson is a doubt for Monday’s game with a knock McSheffrey was ultra-cagey about. Ben Close has had a setback, delaying his return from injury by a week or two.

Last Saturday’s scheduled game against Lincoln City was called off because of Rovers’ Covid-19 cases. Some are now back in training, others on Boxing Day, when a quick judgement will have to be made on their readiness to face promotion-chasing Sunderland.

Thursday’s game against Cambridge United has been postponed because of the opposition’s problems.

Assuming no late positive tests, it will be 16 days before Rovers can build on McSheffrey’s first win, the 1-0 over Shrewsbury Town which ended a five-match losing sequence.

McSheffrey was refusing to get vexed about any of it.

“You want your strongest squad for every game but we can just control what we can control,” he says. “It just gives someone else an opportunity so we’ll find solutions rather than to look for excuses. If we need to play a couple of youngsters, we need to play a couple of youngsters.

“(Yesterday) we had 14 or 15 outfield and four keepers and only one or two are youth-team players. We’re not playing with a six-a-side team. We’ll see what the boys are like who come back and pick a team we feel can be the fittest and best we can be.

“Just as you get the opportunity to build momentum, the Lincoln game is cancelled but at least we can get some good training days in and some constant messages over to the lads. It’s a decent prep for the Sunderland game and now it’ll be a decent prep for Morecambe.

“We acted quite early once we found out what was going on. We had some tests and one training session, then shut down for a few days. We had a full batch of PCRs on Friday and Monday and we were in training on Tuesday.

“With us playing on the 27th the boys can see their families on Christmas Day and we’ll be back in on Boxing Day.

“It was essential we had that little shut-down and it may have, touch wood, nipped it in the bud.

“They’re constantly making new rules which could bring a lad back you thought would be back after 10 days after seven. We’re prepping as much as we can for training but one or two extras might turn up at 9.30.”

He is as relaxed about whether he is about to be given the job on a more permanent basis.

“I’ve had an interview and a follow-up and it seemed to go all right,” he says. “I just get on with trying to prep for Sunderland.

“Under the circumstances I probably couldn’t have done much better. It’s been eventful, it’s been good. There’s been a lot of adrenaline.

“If you always wait and say you don’t feel you’re ready, you’ll always be waiting. Sometimes you’ve got to be chucked in at the deep end.

“I think I’ve lost a few hairs but whatever comes of it, I think it’ll make me stronger and put me in a good position for whatever comes next.

“If I’m in charge (on Monday) I’ll prep as much as I can, if not I’ll enjoy my Christmas dinner!”