Doncaster Rovers v Rochdale: Hard yards on training ground beginning to pay off for Rovers

Three successive wins – two league victories over Colchester United and Blackpool, plus an FA Cup success over Stalybridge – have seen the dark clouds lift over the Keepmoat Stadium.

The 2-0 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road was particularly impressive, bringing a third successive clean sheet too.

“We looked solid,” said Ferguson. “Watching the game back we were a lot more comfortable than when I was watching it live.

“Basically a lot of the stuff we do in training is repetitive so they learn it.

“Every man knows their job defensively and attacking wise. We do a lot of work on that. Credit to the players, they have to take it out onto the pitch.

“I think you’ve seen signs of when people are in certain parts of the pitch, others know where they need to be. It’s just about getting the work done on the training ground.”

Today Rovers play host to Rochdale, knowing victory will see them leapfrog their Lancashire visitors and even climb into the top half of the table.

Ferguson, though, is not taking Keith Hill’s side lightly.

“They’re a good team, a good footballing team with some good young players,” he said.

“I like the way they play. Generally it’s a 4-3-3 with different options up front.

“We know them really well, we’ll do our usual prep and show the players the stuff we need to.

“They’re a good footballing team so we’ll have to make sure we deal with that accordingly,” he added.