Doncaster Rovers marksman John Marquis fears no one in play-off lottery

Grant McCann’s side face Charlton Athletic over two legs in the League One semi-finals after finishing sixth.

The Addicks are considered favourites after beating Rovers on home soil and then claiming a draw in the return at the Keepmoat Stadium.

But Marquis, one of Doncaster’s goalscorer in a 2-0 FA Cup second-round victory over Charlton at The Valley in December, is adamant there is no reason why the South Yorkshire club cannot make it through to the Wembley final.

“You don’t get to choose who you face in the play-offs,” said the striker, fresh from netting his 25th goal of the season in the final day win over Coventry City that sealed sixth spot.

“There is no team I was favouring over the others. I was probably a little bit surprised it was them (Charlton), in how it has panned out over the last few games.

“We will take anyone. We are not scared of anyone. They were much better than us down at their place.

“But they will probably be quite honest and admit they were lucky to come away with a draw up here.

“We had two or three goals disallowed that should have stood.

“We have played them twice in the league and once in the Cup. So, they know our strengths and we know theirs. It is over two legs so let’s see what happens.”

In the table, Rovers finished well adrift of the other three teams who qualified for the play-offs. Lee Bowyer’s Charlton, for instance, ended up 15 points clear of Doncaster, as did Portsmouth in fourth. Sunderland held a 12-point advantage over the sixth-placed club.

This superiority is reflected in McCann’s side failing to win any of the six league meetings with their fellow play-off qualifiers this term.

Nevertheless, Marquis is adamant Doncaster can upset the odds and win promotion to the Championship.

“Anything can happen in football,” said the 26-year-old former Millwall forward. “But I am really happy to be in this dressing room going into these games.

“There is no player I would swap for any other team in the play-offs.”

On the achievement of clinching the final play-off place by pipping Peterborough United, Marquis added: “I never doubted we would get there.

“We were up in sixth for so long, people almost expected it of us. They were saying things like, ‘It is Doncaster’s to lose’ and talking about bottle. And pressure, stuff like that.

“It was just a game of football. That is not a pressure we feel. Pressures are there in life but that is providing for your family, putting food on the table and keeping a roof over your heads. That is pressure. Not playing a game of football. You should relish opportunities like that.”

This will be only Doncaster’s second tilt at the Football League play-offs since they were introduced ahead of the 1986-87 season.

Rovers’ previous taste came 11 years ago, when a resounding semi-final win over Southend United was followed by a 1-0 triumph over Leeds United to book a return to the second tier. The club also won promotion from the Conference in 2003 by beating Dagenham & Redbridge 3-2 at the home of Stoke City.

Marquis added: “From where we were last season (15th), this is an achievement. But we are not resting on it.

“No-one is thinking, ‘We are sixth, we are just going into these games wondering what will happen’.

“We are going into these games to win. There has already been a lot of talk from the other teams, saying how good they all are.

“Let’s see how good they are. They finished with a lot of points more than us. Fair enough. But this is just three games. If we win the next three games, we are in the Championship next season.

“Charlton are the next team. All we are concentrating on is getting the right result over these two games. Then, if we can, it is Wembley. But we look no further than the next two.

“This will be a good tie, especially for the neutral. Play-offs are rarely won or lost in the first leg. Playing at home first is good.

“We love playing here. It will be a great atmosphere and, hopefully, we can set ourselves up for the away leg down there.”

The return at The Valley takes place on Friday week, while the final is then scheduled for Sunday May 26.

Marquis added: “We sat down (in pre-season) and the gaffer put together a really positive presentation, where he thought we should be (in the league), based on who we had at the time.

“The club then added signings after that. Everything we have said we could achieve, we have done.

“Mind, we did say top two was the aim but that was not possible. Our lack of consistency probably cost us getting anywhere near that.”