Ryan calls for calm and promises an improvement in results

Sean O’Driscoll’s side have lost their opening three Championship games of the season and three players being stretchered have compounded their troubles.

They face in-form Derby County tomorrow and bottom-of-the-league Rovers have been forced into the loan market for reinforcements.

Manchester United’s Reece Brown was signed on loan this week and Rovers last night drafted in 18-year-old Chelsea striker Milan Lalkovic – a Slovakian Under-21 international – to bolster an attack minus leading trio Billy Sharp (ankle), James Hayter (knee) and Ryan Mason (ankle).

But Ryan refuses to be downbeat about defeats to Brighton, West Ham and Nottingham Forest and insists Rovers could easily have come away from those three games with nine points.

“All our three losses could have been victories, that’s how tight it has been in every game,” said Ryan. “I think we would have won at Brighton if it hadn’t been for a horrendous tackle performed on Billy Sharp – the authorities have now admitted it should have been a red, but the referee didn’t give it – and that changed the game when we were 1-0 up. It was a hatchet job. These days tackles like that should be banned – I thought they were.

“I thought against West Ham we at least deserved a point – we completely dominated the second half and they were fortunate to get away with it – and against Forest on Tuesday night I thought we deserved all three points. They had one shot on our goal and it went in.

“I am quite confident that when we get a few players back we will be a very good side in this league. As far as I can see there are a lot of big names in this league, but I don’t think the teams match the names.

“Once we get out of this rut and get a win, we will do very well, particularly when we can get Billy back.

“We have Derby on Saturday. We have won there on the last three occasions in the league so let’s hope we can make it four and kick-start our season. We certainly deserve a break. To have 10 injuries at this time of year is crippling for anyone.

“To have three players carried off in the first two games is just ridiculous, particularly when two of them were for really poor tackles.”

Bookmakers tipped Doncaster to struggle this season, but O’Driscoll believes they can defy the odds yet again.

“Once we get players back I am confident we will really zip up the league,” he said. “This is the best squad of players that we have had, it’s just a question of getting them fit. The last time the bookies had us down for relegation favourites, we went on to defy them and win the league.

“I’m not saying we will do that this time, but I am very confident we will finish quite high up in the table, we might even make the top 10, which might sound ridiculous after the first three games but anyone who watched those three games will realise not one of those teams deserved to beat us.

“I’m very bullish, confident we will do well this season, which will come as a big surprise to a lot of people looking at our results.”