O’Driscoll delighted as Stock stays

Stock initially rejected the offer of a new deal but has now been persuaded to commit his future to the Championship club.

O’Driscoll, who worked previously with the midfielder at Bournemouth, is expecting the new deal to be signed next week.

“Financially, our elastic band is being stretched to its breaking point,” he said. “But you have got to keep your better players. The alternative was to let him go and trying to replace someone like that would have been difficult.

“Looking at the way football is going, we would have ended up spending more money on someone younger but not at the same level. We would then have had all that period of time trying to get people up to speed. At some point, it will be the right decision for a player to leave but I think Brian has indicated all along that he has wanted to stay.”

Rovers visit Millwall today buoyed by a midweek victory over Burnley.