Culture and consistency: Doncaster chief Carl Hall's recipe for long-term Championship success

Richard Horne's squad has been bolstered by the addition of several former Super League players, including ex-England international Reece Lyne and Leeds Rhinos old boy Luke Briscoe.

Yet there have been no grand proclamations from the Dons, just small manageable goals at the start of a new journey in the second tier.

Chief executive Carl Hall is under no illusions about the size of the task facing a club that had to claw their way out of League 1 via the promotion final after a series of near misses.

"The owners, Gavin (Baldwin) and Terry (Bramall), always said they'd back us once we made it," Hall told The Yorkshire Post.

"They've supported us very well. We've recruited players from either Super League or the top end of the Championship. After speaking to every one of them, the shared goal was to help us stay in the Championship.

"We know what we're going into. It's a different class of a league and a big step up for this club. Keighley went unbeaten in League 1 and went straight back down.

"Our one goal for this year is to survive in the Championship. Hopefully we can achieve that."

It was a long road back to the second tier for the Dons after dropping down to League 1 in 2015.

Although promotion took longer than intended, the stay in the third tier allowed the club to reset and ultimately find a winning formula.

"The first year we were in League 1, we tried to build the culture first and then gain some consistency within our performances and the squad," added Hall.

"It's proven that once you get that consistency, you get success. You work hard, get a good culture and be consistent in everything you do. We made the final the last three years and eventually got some success out of it.

"Our process is culture, consistency and hopefully followed by success. We believe the longer we're in the Championship, we can grow into it and become a force – but we know we've got to walk before we run."

While the threat of relegation is still there for Championship clubs, gaining promotion to Super League is as complicated as it has ever been following the introduction of a new grading system.

IMG or no IMG, Doncaster are always striving for improvement.

"We've significantly improved our training facilities down at Cantley Park," added Hall. "Again, supported by the board and the owners which we're really grateful for.

"The work we've done at the training ground has probably been our biggest signing of the year to enable the boys to prepare for the season.

"We've also got the high-performance centre down at the stadium now where the boys do their recovery on a Monday with all the state-of-the-art recovery stuff. The boys from Super League were blown away with the facilities, which is a credit to the club."

The Dons were ranked 23rd in the indicative phase of the rollout, making a Super League breakthrough unlikely in the short to medium term.

But Hall, whose ultimate dream is to get Doncaster into a position where they can achieve top-flight status, will continue to chip away at the deficit to the higher-ranked B clubs.

"We know we're a well-run club and do things the right way," he said.

"We were well down on the performance side as a League 1 club. We already know we've got quite a few wins from being in the Championship.

"We can definitely improve our scores. Everyone down here is buying into it.

"We're not shouting too much about it because we just want to focus on trying to sustain being a Championship club."

Doncaster begin their campaign with a home game against York Knights on Sunday week.

After the best part of a decade away, the Dons are determined to enjoy it and pick up more new fans along the way.

"Everything around the club is going in the right direction," said Hall.

"We've sold 800 season tickets, which is the most we've ever sold down here. That might not sound a lot to a lot of people but it's massive for this club. I think the last time we were in the Championship we sold 100.

"We'll have a lot of activity going on for the first game. With the IMG stuff, we're trying to make it more than just a game. There will be music, a petting zoo and family activities.

"It's a big thing for us. We're back in the Championship and there's a buzz around the whole town.

"It should be a big bumper crowd. The stadium is going to get some crowds that this city deserves."