Promotion is target for Rovers new boss, says Ryan

Rovers were rocked over the weekend when the quiet satisfaction at climbing joint top of League One was replaced by despair as Saunders was lured away by former Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Saunders had transformed Rovers from a club looking merely to consolidate after relegation into a team equipped to seal a return to the second tier.

Rovers have been inundated with applications for a job that has to be one of the most attractive in the Football League, given the infrastructure at the club and the position Saunders has left them in.

Former England international Terry Butcher was linked with the Keepmoat job yesterday, but the Yorkshire Post understands he is today set for talks with Barnsley.

Steve Lomas – who like Butcher is managing in Scotland – has been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite with SkyBet.

Ryan has a proven track record of unearthing managerial talent, with Saunders, Sean O’Driscoll and Dave Penney all having helped the club progress over the last decade. And he is not afraid to scour the lower leagues to find a manager.

Doncaster’s chairman last night refused to name names, saying only that whoever takes the reins will be tasked with completing a promotion-winning season for the Keepmoat club.

“There’s nothing broken at Doncaster Rovers. It doesn’t need changing,” he said.

“We’re joint top of the League with 20 games to go and with the best away record in the League.

“We have put ourselves in a position, at least for this season, to challenge for promotion.

“Obviously we will look at the long-term in the summer, whether we’re a League One club or a Championship club. But right now, we have the opportunity.”

Continuing Rovers’ tradition of being a footballing side is also an attribute the club desire.

“We want the transition to be as seamless as possible,” said Ryan.

“We wouldn’t be appointing somebody with an approach that is alien to us.”

As the story developed over the weekend, Ryan said he had a Plan B in place should Saunders leave.

In the past he had his eye on O’Driscoll when Penney’s time came to an end. And then when results turned for the former 16 months ago, Ryan already had Saunders in mind. But he insists that this time, that is not the case.

“We did have a plan B but there is no-one special right now,” he said. “I’ve got my own thoughts, as I’m sure the other board members have. We have been inundated with applications. Myself and my colleagues will sift through them and we will come up with a shortlist and go from there.

“I’d like to make an appointment sooner rather than later.

“There’s some high quality applicants and it’s going to be a very difficult choice.

“I’m confident though because I have a very good record for choosing a manager.”

The speed at which Saunders departed the club following Stale Solbakken’s dismissal by Wolves on Saturday evening raised questions about the nature of the approach.

But Ryan quashed any talk of there being anything sinister in the way it was handled.

“I know Steve Morgan very well,” he said of the Wolves chairman. “I told him if you’re going to do it, do it quickly. It came completely out of the blue. I was just savouring going joint top of League One when the call came.

“Dean did great for us. He inherited a squad that didn’t really perform and he created his own squad in his own image and they have done brilliantly.

“I’m disappointed that Dean is gone but my philosophy is the king is dead, long live the king.

“Dean was made an offer he couldn’t refuse. Wolves is a big club but we have to move on and appoint a new manager.”

Brian Flynn and captain Rob Jones have been placed in charge for Saturday’s trip to Stevenage.