Sticking together is the way forward for Doncaster Rovers, says Darren Ferguson

DARREN FERGUSON insists he has no issues with the transfer backing he has received from the Doncaster Rovers hierarchy - which he has labelled as 'fantastic.'
UNDER PRESSURE: Doncaster Rovers' manager, Darren Ferguson. Picture: Tony Johnson.UNDER PRESSURE: Doncaster Rovers' manager, Darren Ferguson. Picture: Tony Johnson.
UNDER PRESSURE: Doncaster Rovers' manager, Darren Ferguson. Picture: Tony Johnson.

Beleaguered Rovers face a Yorkshire derby with Bradford City tomorrow, the same opposition against who they took the field against on the day after Ferguson took charge in October.

Then, as now, Rovers find themselves deep in trouble at the wrong end of League One – and they head to Valley Parade on a desperate sequence of 10 league games without a win since January 2.

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Ferguson’s manoeuvrings in the transfer market have so far largely been restricted to recruiting loan signings from Premier League development squads, such as Conor Grant, Lynden Gooch and Riccardo Calder, but the Scot is adamant that the support he has received from the boardroom to bring in the players he has wanted cannot be faulted.

Ferguson, whose side have lost seven of their past eight outings, said: “The board has been fantastic in terms of getting the players who I wanted to get in.

“Around the month of January, we were flying and we have brought in Lynden (Gooch), Riccardo (Calder), (Craig) Alcock, Conor Grant and Felipe (Mattioni) before that.

“I believe the quick fix is not to go out and bring in another five or six players. The board have given me fantastic support, no doubt about that. We are all in this together and I have had a chat with some of the players again and we all stand shoulder by shoulder.”

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Ferguson was scathing of his side’s meek efforts in the midweek derby loss at Scunthorpe and admits that livelihoods are at stake for both players and staff following the club’s recent horror run – if things don’t change fast with the spectre of relegation looming.

Urging his squad to engineer a response following some painful recent results, he added: “You can’t keep losing games of football and we are fully aware of the situation. It has to change as quickly as possible.

“Are the players playing for their careers here? There’s got to be that determination and pride about staying in the league – that’s the situation we are in. We have got to make sure we find enough within us in terms of determination to stay in the league.”