Oldham v Doncaster Rovers: Dickov is supporting his misfiring strikers

Rovers head to Dickov’s former club Oldham today for the second time in just over a month – and a repeat of December’s 1-0 FA Cup win would do nicely.

All told, Dickov’s side are unbeaten in eight away games in all competitions and have displayed plenty of defensive resolution along the way. While the fact that no-one has hit more than four goals so far in the league this term is glaring, Dickov is looking at the overall picture.

He said: “Would you rather have your strikers score 15 or 20 goals or pick up seven points out of nine over Christmas? I know I would rather pick up the points.

“The job the strikers have been doing recently has been fantastic. They really have been putting themselves out for the team.

“As a striker, I know you want to be scoring every game. But if you have a system working for you and are picking up results, it does not matter who scores.

“Singling out Theo (Robinson) at the minute, his work-rate and desire to do a job for the team has been outstanding recently.

“The players really appreciate that and he has been setting us off with his pressing and closing people down. That has created opportunities for everybody else.”

Rovers may be in 15th place after a slow-burn of a season, but it will not be lost on fans that they lie just three points behind Sheffield United, who occupy the final play-off spot and Dickov feels the next month will be an important time.

He added: “We have got a big game coming up and don’t like to look too far ahead.

“But, by the end of this month, we will have a real gauge of where we want to go and also where we are.

“It is a big month as we have a lot of games.”