Doncaster Rovers manager Grant McCann paid tribute to Lincoln City’s title-winning outfit as his side prepares to face the Imps tomorrow afternoon.
Lincoln will send two separate teams to South Yorkshire opponents Doncaster and Barnsley in our final publicised pre-season matches.
It’s been the most eagerly anticipated set of fixtures before the season gets underway in years, as the Imps prepare for our historic Championship campaign.
Speaking to Doncaster Free Press, McCann is preparing his side for the final test of their pre-season schedule against last season’s third-tier title winners.
Rovers faced one of the Imps’ new second-tier opponents, Wolverhampton Wanderers, earlier this week. It’s been a mixed bag of results for Donny in their friendly matches, though it’s usually best to read virtually nothing into the outcome of those encounters. The Imps should know that feeling all too well, having been well-beaten by Grimsby Town on Tuesday evening. That’s the same Cleethorpes outfit that beat us 12 months ago, and the 25/26 campaign ended up turning out alright for ourselves.
Turning the attention back to Rovers, they, like Lincoln, are just eight days away from their season opener in the League Cup against divisional rivals Stockport County. The familiar opponents continue, with Mansfield Town, Barnsley and Stevenage all to face before August is out.
McCann will know how important it is to get his side off to the best possible start this season, and having a fit squad goes a long way to achieving that.
“We need to still get minutes into the players’ legs. It’s a pre-season game. It’s not a league game or anything like that, so it won’t be any different to what you saw versus Wolves.”
Are Doncaster Targeting Promotion?
Donny had an interesting season last term. Among the early frontrunners in League One, they struggled to adjust to the demands of the third tier after riding the high of promotion in the first few weeks of the campaign. However, they turned their fortunes around to avoid being dragged into a proper relegation fight in the final knockings of the season.
They will be setting their sights higher this season, bidding to become one of the surprise packages in the 26/27 campaign. McCann ruffled a few feathers with his comments about the Imps before we won the League One title in South Yorkshire back in April, though he was largely complimentary of Michael Skubala’s side. He continued that theme about Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen’s outfit before the teams lock horns this weekend.
“They were the best team in League One by a country mile last year. No doubt they’ll do quite well in the Championship. It’ll be another good game for us against another Championship team and a different type of team than Wolves. It’ll be a good test.”
Charlesworth also revealed that two ex-Imps, Frankie Okoronkwo and Robbie Gotts, are likely to miss out facing their former employers. Seasoned EFL forward Alfie May, on loan from Huddersfield Town, may also be absent after recently picking up a knock.
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