Fleetwood 0 Doncaster: Rovers' standards have slipped, rues Darren Ferguson

Rovers lacked their usual cohesion and crisp passing play as they fought out a poor contest with their struggling hosts Fleetwood.

“It’s nowhere near good enough,” Ferguson said.

“I’m being brutally honest as I always am and it was nowhere near good enough.

“We weren’t good enough on the ball, it was simple as that.

“It’s frustrating but it was annoying as well that our standards have slipped, particularly on the ball because we’re normally very good.

Ferguson added: “In the early part of the game I thought we were really good. Lynden Gooch got in positions and was a real threat. He’s a good player the boy.

“We lost Conor Grant, but I thought Richard Chaplow did well when he came on.

“As I’ve said to the players, we can’t drop from the standards we’ve set.

“I think that’s probably one of the – on the ball certainly – poorest away performances we’ve had.”

Ferguson confirmed Grant was withdrawn with a dead leg.

However, the midfielder himself is confident he will be fit to face Port Vale in tomorrow night’s game.

But Rovers’ boss Ferguson does not expect injured trio Harry Middleton, Andy Butler or Nathan Tyson to return for the clash with Vale.

Fleetwood Town: Maxwell, McLaughlin, Pond, Davis, Bell, Ryan, Jonsson, Sarcevic, Grant, Henen (Kiwomya 61), Haughton (Cole 59). Unused substitutes: Jordan, Hornby-Forbes, Nirennold, Hunter, Gogic.

Doncaster Rovers: Stuckmann, Alcock, McCullough, MacKenzie (Lund 58), Taylor-Sinclair, Evina, Coppinger, Keegan, Grant (Chaplow 17), Gooch, Williams. Unused substitutes: Main, N’Guessan, Mandeville, Marosi, Davies.

Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside).