MONDAY POLL: Rovers to bounce straight back up vows boss Dickov

PAUL DICKOV last night pledged to lead Doncaster Rovers back to the Championship at the first attempt.
Doncaster Rover's Chris Brown shows his dejection after relegation is confirmed at Leicester City.Doncaster Rover's Chris Brown shows his dejection after relegation is confirmed at Leicester City.
Doncaster Rover's Chris Brown shows his dejection after relegation is confirmed at Leicester City.

The South Yorkshire club was relegated in the cruellest of fashions on the final day of another absorbing season in the second tier.

A 1-0 defeat at champions Leicester City coupled with Birmingham City claiming a stoppage-time equaliser at Bolton Wanderers meant Dickov’s side slipped into the bottom three on goal difference.

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Talks have already taken place with regards next season and Dickov will be handed the task of bringing Doncaster back up. It is a challenge that the former striker is ready to tackle head-on.

Dickov said: “Everyone is gutted. The aim was to stay in this division but we have just come up short. It is the worst day of my career. If I had managed to keep the club up, it would have been the biggest achievement of my career. So now it is the biggest letdown.”

Asked if he expected to remain manager next season, the Rovers chief replied: “Absolutely.

“It is the club’s view and mine. This is my job and I will be more determined than ever to make sure we get promoted next year.

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“We have had conversations before this weekend. All our efforts as a club are focused on getting us back up. We have 13 contracted players and that is a good base for me to start next season.

“I have a decent record of getting people in who maybe some thought we wouldn’t get. We will sit down next week and look at the best way forward.”

A dire end to the season is what cost Doncaster dear. Just one point – a goalless draw at Millwall – from the final seven games condemned the club to the drop.

That said, the manner of how events unfolded on Saturday was cruel. With 10 minutes of their game remaining, Doncaster were safe thanks to Birmingham being 2-0 down.

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Nikola Zigic then pulled a goal back for the Blues before Paul Caddis popped up in stoppage time to rescue a point and keep Lee Clark’s men in the division.

Caddis’s equaliser came with just 60 seconds of the Doncaster game remaining.

Dickov said: “I knew what was happening at Bolton. When I got told (it was 2-0), I said to the person who told me, ‘This isn’t over’.

“As for ourselves, we had been resolute in what we wanted to do. Tactically, we were outstanding in doing our jobs. But, once we gave the penalty away (on 75 minutes) and then heard results from elsewhere, we wanted to try and change things.

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“The problem is it is difficult to change things when Birmingham equalise as late as they did. That said, maybe the Leicester game summed up our season a little bit in that we came up a little bit short.

“Like our season, we did well in parts, defended well in parts, broke well in parts but then other parts were quite poor.

“That sums up the inconsistency we have had over the season.”

Rovers will join Barnsley and Yeovil Town in dropping down to a division that will next season also feature Bradford City and Sheffield United.

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It can be no coincidence that the three relegated sides have the three smallest budgets in the division. Not, though, that Dickov wants to look for excuses or ponder on the what-might-have-beens, such as the abandoned game at Charlton in August that Rovers had been winning 3-1 but then lost the rearranged tie 2-0.

The Doncaster chief said: “You don’t want to talk about budgets because it sounds like making excuses. But the last time this club was relegated, the budget was 50 per cent higher than this year.

“So for everyone to compete like they have – and this may not sound right at this time – means they deserve credit. We so nearly did it. Fine margins decided it but I am a big one for no regrets.

“You can send yourself mad thinking about what might have been. We are devastated at the minute. This isn’t the time to reflect. Not when your emotions are running high.

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“We will get the players in next week and then decide the best way to go forward.”

On the collapse in form since beating Leeds 2-1 on March 29 – a result that left Rovers eight points clear of the drop zone with seven games remaining – Dickov added: “One point from the last seven games tells a story but it is about the entire season. We have had times when we played really well but times when we have struggled to maintain any kind of form. That maybe comes from having a small squad. Injuries do hurt. But the one thing I do now is pick the club up, pick myself up and then go again next year.”

Match report: Page 3.