Wycombe Wanderers v Doncaster Rovers: '˜Stay calm and claim the title'

Doncaster Rovers' Niall Mason Picture: Jonathan GawthorpeDoncaster Rovers' Niall Mason Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe
Doncaster Rovers' Niall Mason Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe
THE League Two title race may have tightened up after Easter events, but a semblance of calm pervades at Doncaster Rovers.

That is the view of loanee Niall Mason and while Plymouth Argyle are just three points adrift of Rovers with three games to go, Darren Ferguson’s troops will not be caught panicking.

It has plainly not been that sort of season with Doncaster having yet to suffer back-to-back losses – the best indicator of consistency in a thoroughly sound campaign.

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Rovers visit Adams Park today, seeking to claim three more points towards their title pursuit and Mason insists that focus will be maintained, despite a disappointing haul of just one point in Easter games with Blackpool and Colchester United.

He said: “We are calm and know what needs to be done and it is there for us. We have got the upper hand at the moment and we have to be nice and confident and positive to get these results.

“All season, we have just concentrated on the next game. If you start looking further along, that is when it can go wrong for you.

“When you just look at it, one by one, they soon tick off and that is what we have done all season.”

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Mason admits he is hopeful of returning to Rovers for their League One return in 2017-18, with parent club Aston Villa happy for him to continue his footballing education elsewhere.

Mason, who has impressed in both a holding midfield role and at left-back, added: “It has been brilliant and I have learned a lot and I have had a good first season of professional football and I feel like I have improved.

“We are quite close to sorting something out and it will be silly to turn something down, coming back here. They (Villa) are happy for me to move on.”

Rovers are buoyed by the return of talismanic midfielder James Coppinger, with several other key players, including Andy Butler, Luke McCullough and Ian Lawlor, also back in the fray, alongside young striker Liam Mandeville, for the trip to Buckinghamshire.

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The impact of evergreen Coppinger has been considerable this season, even at the ripe old age of 36, and Mason admits that his availability this afternoon is very timely .

On Coppinger, voted by his peers this week into the PFA League Two team of the season, Mason added: “He is fantastic and such a calm figure at the club and also an experienced figure as well and a great player. He will be massive for us (at the end of the season).”

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