West Ham United v Doncaster Rovers - Tom Anderson proud to take the captaincy for FA Cup challenge

No one should be overly deceived.

Doncaster Rovers’ new captain may adopt a modest persona off the pitch. On it, he is rather more forceful and authoritative.

High praise on social media came from his vastly-experienced defensive colleague Andy Butler – who has seen a fair bit in football – after last Saturday’s win at Swindon Town when Anderson was not to be moved, even blocking one shot from a home player with his face.

Those hard-to-please senior professionals whom he used to rub shoulders with at Burnley’s modest training ground at Gawthorpe Hall – before it was redeveloped – would have even been impressed.

Anderson never cracked it at his boyhood club, but he was provided with an education in football which proved priceless and will always be with him.

He did the hard yards on loan at the likes of Barrow, Hyde, FC Halifax Town and Chesterfield and was also part of a training-ground culture at Burnley which did not suffer fools. Neither did the manager who drove sky-high standards daily.

The quiet young professional who came to training each day kept his head down, took lessons on board and learned plenty.

Today, Anderson will step out at a Premier League ground against the claret and blue of West Ham with the captain’s armband resplendent.

There will be plenty who will be delighted for him back in his native East Lancashire.

Anderson told The Yorkshire Post: “In terms of what I learned there (at Burnley), I try to take with me and bring a little bit into Doncaster now.

“Coming through at Burnley, it was the best atmosphere and environment to come through. You had to be a strong character and there were some intimidating players. Not in a bad way, but they demanded quality and if you did not deliver, they would tell you.

“I owe a lot to the people at Burnley, such as the manager who is still there (Sean Dyche).

“I came through at a time where you still needed to be on it every day with no mistakes. It was a case of ‘don’t let any days pass you by.’

“It was about really working hard to get what you deserve.

“The first team and the manager were brilliant. All the management staff, to be honest – the assistant Ian Woan and a few more.

“Player-wise, I was a bit quiet and kept myself to myself. But I used to watch the likes of Michael Duff and Jason Shackell and towards the end I was there, Michael Keane came in and even though he was at a similar age, the fact he’d been at Manchester United, who are a massive club, meant I’d watch and learn from him. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Just a week on from his boyhood club striding out at the London Stadium, Anderson will also be in the visiting dressing room today.

As someone who supported Burnley as a young lad home and away, the 27-year-old has a lot of time for the domestic cup competitions and can recall some famous moments against clubs from the capital.

Part of a Clarets crowd who sampled some Cup highs, the football fan in Anderson admits that the sight of him and his Doncaster team-mates not being roared on by a fair few thousand from South Yorkshire on the club’s first visit to the Hammers new home today is disappointing.

He continued: “There’s a few games I remember in the cups. Burnley beat Arsenal and Tottenham once and I always watched the FA Cup, which is a massive competition and it means a lot to us all.

“It is a shame what is still going on in the world that no fans will be there. But we all have to keep going and pull through together and, hopefully, sooner rather than later, we might get fans back in towards the end of the season.

“We don’t know, but that’s what we are all hoping for. We’ll wait and see.”

Despite the absence of supporters at games, it does not mean the fans cannot bask in Cup kudos as Doncastrians did from afar after victory at Blackburn in the third round.

That result also went down rather well with one Burnley supporting member of Anderson’s family, who took great delight in the elimination of the Clarets’ big rivals.

It was an afternoon at Ewood Park when Doncaster showed resolution and proficiency in equal measure. They will have to do that and plenty more besides to compete today.

On Doncaster’s shock win at Blackburn, Anderson added: “I got a few messages – from my brother especially, who is a big Burnley fan. I got a few ‘well done’ calls and it was a good one.

“In the Cup games this season, we have had to really dig in and that just shows the character of the squad and we keep going until the very end. It can take you a long way.

“You can have a lot of talent, but if you don’t graft day in and day out, you won’t get very far.

“We have some great lads in this squad who work for each other and we get results.”

Rovers’ progression in the third round came without their midfield talisman in Ben Whiteman, with his subsequent big-money transfer to Preston North End having ramifications for Anderson, in particular.

The big defender has been named by Doncaster manager Darren Moore as the club’s new captain following the departure of Whiteman – and over time, things will change another way.

Before social distancing regulations, Whiteman and Anderson were part of a ‘car share’ of team-mates who split the driving to travel into training from the north-west each day.

When things get back to normal, their number will be one fewer, although Anderson admits to being personally pleased for his good friend Whiteman at securing his high-profile move.

Anderson said: “Me and Ben started off a little car share, so it was a little bit sad to see him leave as it had been two-and-a-half years.

“But he has been an unbelievable player and deserves it with his performances and we all wish him the very best.

“At the minute, we cannot actually drive in together. But I have still got Reece James and Jon Taylor to keep me on my toes, don’t you worry about that.”

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