BRANDON Hanlan has lift-off again for Doncaster Rovers - and assistant manager Cliff Byrne has praised the 'excellent attitude' of the striker during his painful barren streak.

The former Wycombe Wanderers forward has had a tough time of it since heading north, but found the net in relieving fashion in Tuesday night's EFL Trophy victory over Yorkshire rivals Bradford City.

Hanlan netted an eye-catching dinked finish in the 3-1 success, to register his first goal in seven matches since September 2 and just his second of the campaign, with Byrne hoping it is the precursor to better fortunes.

Byrne said: "The human nature (side) of the game, you feel that as time goes by.

Tottenham Hotspur's Austrian defender #04 Kevin Danso (L) vies with Doncaster Rovers' English striker #09 Brandon Hanlan (R) during the English League Cup third round football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Doncaster Rovers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on September 24, 2025. (Photo by Ian Kington / AFP)

placeholder image — Tottenham Hotspur's Austrian defender #04 Kevin Danso (L) vies with Doncaster Rovers' English striker #09 Brandon Hanlan (R) during the English League Cup third round football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Doncaster Rovers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on September 24, 2025. (Photo by Ian Kington / AFP)

"He (Hanlan) could probably challenge the amount of opportunities that he hasn't had. It's a challenging league and demanding team to come and play in and he took his goal really well.

"What I will say is that he's had an excellent attitude throughout. He's been fully committed and does some individual stuff himself.

"It's not for the lack of putting the hard graft in. You've just got to be ready when the opportunities come and he certainly did in the second half.

"In the first half, I think there were areas he could improve on, but in the second half, he became a player and threat for their back three.

Doncaster Rovers assistant manager Cliff Byrne

"When we have a strong group - like we have - and everybody is at it on a day to day basis, it just creates that competition in the building, which increases people's ability and performance.

"You have to be at a level to keep getting in.

"We are really pleased with his (Hanlan's) response in the 45-50 minutes in the second half. The level of performance in the first half; as you can tell by the nature of the substitutions, the manager wasn't happy with it one bit and I echo that."

Rovers booked a home tie in the knock-out stages of the Trophy following just a third win in 12 matches in all competitions, with Jordan Gibson netting twice against his old club - to put the hosts in good heart ahead of Saturday's League One game at Lincoln City.

Byrne added: "To come from a goal behind against a team like Bradford, under Graham (Alexander), is not easy.

"I think we benefited from taking our chances as opposed to what has come on for the past two or three games. It does create momentum and confidence within the group and also shows it to teams that we are due to play in the near future now.

"The capability is there and we executed the opportunities."