Ricky is joined by Tom Biltcliffe and Peter Catt to chat all things DRFC.
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00:00 Hello and welcome along to our latest episode of Doncaster Rovers Chat. I'm Ricky Charles with the Rovers Report and I'm joined by not one but two special guests this week. We're joined by Tom, as ever, from Billcliffe, from Radio Sheffield. Afternoon, Tom, how are we doing?
00:15 Evening, Ricky. Yeah, good, thank you.
00:17 Good stuff. And we're also joined by Peter Katt, former Doncaster Free Press sports writer. Peter, how are we doing?
00:25 Fine, thanks. Yeah.
00:27 Good stuff. I'm sure the mood is heightened, not only because of spring, but also Rovers' incredible form. I mean, use what words you like, really, Tom. The run they're on, eight wins in a row.
00:40 We know, we've all heard the stats about how many years it's been since they've been on a run like this, but it's just been staggering, hasn't it, the turnaround these last two months?
00:49 Yeah, absolutely. I'm sure even in Peter's illustrious career, many, many, many years of covering the club, he's never seen anything quite like this.
01:01 I don't know what he's seen for what he's held himself.
01:08 Rather than kind of doubt, you know, I kind of thought, oh, Crawley, well, I think a point would be a good result. Wrexham at home, is that the day the bubble burst?
01:16 Morecambe, we've been there and seen Rovers two up, three up and lose.
01:23 Just enjoy it. Just enjoy a team going all guns blazing. And they've had a right good go.
01:30 People have said regardless of what happens at the end of the season, they'll stand up in good stead next year.
01:36 That's true. But these runs come along, you know, once in a blue moon.
01:42 I mean, you always kind of feel like it'd be a shame if this was just to not culminate in a playoff tilt.
01:50 But the eight in a row, some of the games, I'm trying to think, the Walsall game, they weren't at their best.
01:57 By all accounts, the Atherington one was up there. But I still think back to that Wrexham game.
02:02 I thought they showed up that night and that was a proper, you know, I think a lot of Rovers fans have said that was the night that they felt like the club was back.
02:14 It was an important night. But this is in stark, stark contrast to the bleak midwinter and that long drive home from Sutton.
02:23 And you just thought, it was a tough watch. It was a poor result, but it was a better result than it could have been.
02:31 And Rovers have really turned it on since then. And it's been quite a revelation.
02:36 And you just don't want it to end here.
02:39 I was going to say, Peter, I mean, Tom just alluded to it there, but you can't have seen too many better runs of results.
02:46 Not necessarily football, but the run and how they're just churning these victories out week in, week out.
02:53 Yeah, certainly I haven't seen a winning run like that with Rovers and I do go back quite a long time.
03:00 I thought it was 77 years, so I don't go back that far.
03:04 But I mean, there has been fantastic runs.
03:06 When they've got promotion in the past, they've won seven in eight, I think in '81, '82 season.
03:17 They won nine out of 10 when 2003, 2004 under Dave Penny, when they won the championship that season.
03:26 And they've had runs, long unbeaten runs sort of thing at the times they've been successful.
03:32 But I think Tom makes a good point where he says it augurs well for next season.
03:41 I think now's the time. You've got to strike while the iron's hot and make the most of it now,
03:48 because who knows what's going to happen next season?
03:52 Yeah, absolutely. I think this is the thing. Enjoy it while it's happening.
03:57 While they're on this run, on the crest of a wave, there's a comment just come in from Jack about struggling to believe.
04:05 I mean, if you're not going to believe now, when are you going to believe on this run?
04:10 Tom, do you think it is sustainable for another three, hopefully six?
04:18 I just think any sport, any level, to win eight in a row, it's just so hard to do.
04:26 Even the man-citizens of this world can't do it.
04:30 I mean, Leverkusen have done it, fair play to them.
04:34 But at this level, I just, who knows? I honestly don't know.
04:38 I've written them off a couple of times in this run.
04:43 And it's not just the eight in a row. Prior to that, they'd got something like four wins, two draws and a defeat.
04:50 This is a sustained period where they've actually gone on a decent run.
04:55 You know, getting up for the best part of more than a quarter of the season,
05:00 they've been better than teams like Stockport, who are going to win the title.
05:04 They've been better than Mansfield et al.
05:07 No one wants to come into contention with Rovers at the moment.
05:11 And I would just think that the pressure might get to Crawley or Barrow or even Crewe.
05:18 The fact that Rovers are, I think, six points off fifth and with the game in hand is nuts.
05:26 And Crewe are in a right rut. They're my team to catch, actually, not Crawley or Barrow.
05:31 Crewe, two wins in ten. They've got Wrexham and Colchester to come.
05:36 I just think that Rovers could be three points off fifth with the game in hand come Saturday night.
05:45 It's hard to put into context, really, isn't it?
05:49 Because I think you wrote a piece, Ricky, 'EFL gate crashings'.
05:53 It's right up there. It really is.
05:56 I was going to say, Peter, Crawley, Barrow, Tanai as well.
06:01 It's one of those games where any outcome really is favourable, I guess.
06:06 Because we were just chatting before we came on air about how poorly those two are doing.
06:11 Tom's right. Nobody will want to face Donny this run they're in, this mood they're in.
06:18 I think it's going to be better if Crawley lose tonight, to be honest.
06:23 Then nobody can catch them if they win all the remaining games.
06:31 But as you say, it's all right if you win three more 10 or 11 games in a row.
06:37 But you've got to win the play-off games as well.
06:40 Not necessarily you can draw some or even lose one and then come back in the next leg.
06:45 But it's been a real experience, hasn't it? It's been incredible.
06:51 Nobody could have predicted this.
06:53 I keep thinking, well, it's got to end sometimes.
06:56 You think the law of averages and things don't go on forever.
07:00 But I know one person who won't think that, and that's Grant McCann.
07:06 I think he's a bit of a special manager.
07:09 I've seen over 30 managers at Rovers in the past while I've been working.
07:16 Nobody is so gung-ho or attack-minded or positive as he is.
07:22 I think a lot of this is down to him.
07:24 Obviously, the players have put it out on the pitch.
07:28 But he's been the driving force, I think.
07:30 I think this idea of sticking a table up at the end of the transfer window in January,
07:36 I think that was an inspired move.
07:38 I know that has affected a lot of the players.
07:40 Keep going and having a look on the Monday and finding out where they are.
07:45 They're still up there and there's a bigger and bigger gap emerging in terms of them in the second place.
07:51 I think that was really, really clever.
07:54 I don't know, Fida, if you remember when Matty Craig signed on loan from Spurs.
07:59 Aside from him being an absolute revelation and a real top-quality player,
08:04 his interview – bear in mind he was only 20, I think it was his birthday either –
08:08 yesterday or today, he said, "We're hoping to get in the playoffs."
08:11 People's heads exploded.
08:13 "What are you talking about? This is delusional."
08:16 That's come from the camp.
08:18 Yes, absolutely.
08:20 He's told them when they're signing.
08:22 He's told the same to Adelikan.
08:27 Telling them is one thing.
08:29 Getting them to believe is another.
08:31 That's been the difference at this stage of the season from the start of the season.
08:37 They did have horrendous injury problems, probably the worst that I've ever known.
08:41 You don't have the previous season's top scorer who doesn't even play a game, Miller.
08:48 I don't think early on in the season, I'm not sure they bought in to what he was trying to do.
08:57 The other thing was – and it's been forgotten – the last two seasons prior to this have been horrendous.
09:03 We've lost so many games, 26 games, one season, 32 another season.
09:09 I think a losing mentality has developed around the club.
09:13 McCann came in hoping to do this, hoping to do that.
09:19 It's not that easy to turn that around.
09:22 I think he took a step back and realised the size of the task.
09:28 But to turn things around from being, I don't know where we were, fourth or fifth bottom to where we are now,
09:36 it's just unbelievable, incredible.
09:39 But look at who they've not got, Peter.
09:42 A lot of this season has been without Taylor, Miller, Close and Westbrook have hardly been involved in this run at all.
09:51 Nixon and Senior are out at the moment.
09:54 You've got the bare bones now for quite a decent side.
09:58 And they're nowhere near.
10:00 I think he brought some...
10:08 The signs he made at the start of the season, he brought people in, hoping to blend them with what they've got
10:14 and found out he didn't have a lot there really because of the injuries.
10:20 Now that's starting to get itself sorted out at the moment.
10:23 I just think the biggest differences I think in football, and I'm sure our manager will say this,
10:34 is confidence, is having some belief.
10:37 And the belief the side's got now, as was amplified on Saturday against Accrington,
10:45 when they just went out and swept them aside really, is completely different to the way they were approaching the start of the season.
10:55 I think Dave Rennie as well has been name-checked a couple of times by McCartney.
10:59 He mentioned about Jack Senior, the fact that he'd had scans on his hamstring and he couldn't get to the bottom of it.
11:06 And then all of a sudden Dave Rennie, who I think came in just before the New Year,
11:12 he's starting to put plans in place and I think that's what McCann wants.
11:16 He wants to put in the foundations for success, not just on the pitch but you think of the backroom staff.
11:23 I would trust him 100 per cent, McCann.
11:27 From the outside looking in before I started covering Robles, I think everyone would have thought
11:32 he wouldn't have dropped to League Two for any other club.
11:35 He won League One two or three seasons ago. He was a League One title-winning manager.
11:40 His stock's not fallen that much to necessarily warrant going down to League Two,
11:46 but I think Donny are lucky to have him and I think he's showing that with this run.
11:52 If they don't go up this season, I don't think there's a better man to have at their helm to plot the course next season.
12:01 We'll just move on to, because I'm just conscious of the time, Barrow.
12:05 Obviously, we've talked a lot about them tonight, but they're the last visitors.
12:09 Hopefully, it's going to be a sizeable crowd. I know by all accounts, the tickets are selling well.
12:14 Hopefully, Tom, a big crowd, big atmosphere and a good way to end the regular home campaign
12:21 with hopefully another home game to come.
12:24 If the Donny public don't turn out for this, then they never will.
12:28 I've seen a lot of people saying, 'Get tickets reduced and quit a kid.'
12:32 I think this product sells itself. You don't need to demean it.
12:35 You're getting value for money. You've got a team as good as they'll be at this level.
12:41 That crest of a wave, as you mentioned, and it's against a playoff contender rival.
12:48 It's a playoff for the playoffs. If you win that, oh dear, there'll be a few piling into the cell on Saturday night.
12:56 Don't worry about that.
12:58 You'll be one of them now, Tom.
13:01 Potentially.
13:03 Sorry, sorry, Ree.
13:06 I was going to say, what are your thoughts on Barrow on Saturday?
13:10 Yeah, I think it's great that they're making a big effort to get the ground full.
13:15 I mean, it's a massive difference when you've got a five-figure attendance, so over 10,000.
13:20 I mean, there's been some great nights and afternoons in the past that I can remember when we've had a big gate.
13:27 It makes such a difference.
13:29 And they're really having a go. I mean, McCann's been writing to supporters apparently,
13:34 and they're asking local businesses to pay for youngsters to go.
13:40 They're going to go around the schools and give them free tickets that businesses have paid for sort of thing.
13:46 And I think that's great.
13:49 And if the atmosphere is really buzzing on Saturday, I feel I've got a lot of confidence in the result.
13:58 I quite like Barrow actually, I did earlier in the season.
14:03 They have lost the last three games.
14:06 But earlier in the season, actually, they won seven games in a row.
14:09 I think it was league and cup games.
14:12 But they've fallen down lately.
14:15 I think it would be better if they win, end this three-game losing run tonight and then come to us on Saturday and lose again.
14:25 They won't fancy it though, will they?
14:28 I'm not sure anybody will at the moment, Tom.
14:32 Trip to Crawley followed by a trip to Donny?
14:35 I know, yeah, it's a massive journey as we well know if we have to go to Barrow or Carlisle.
14:42 But two in a week, as you say, going down to Crawley, coming back up here.
14:48 But you never know. That's the thing about football. You just never know.
14:54 But we can't do more than what we've been doing at the moment.
14:58 You just got to feel it.
15:00 McCarney had one season here before he got to the playoffs.
15:04 We lost the first leg against Charlton.
15:07 It looked like an impossible task.
15:09 He played amazingly well at Charlton to win that game there and then lost on penalties.
15:16 But that was an amazing match at Charlton, a cracking game that night.
15:22 And they're going for the impossible dream again now.
15:28 Obviously, on Saturday, I think it was seven, eight goals,
15:34 so four goals I should say, seven different combinations in terms of scorers or assists, Tom.
15:39 I mean, that's probably what was missing, wasn't it?
15:42 You don't want to be over-reliant on one player.
15:44 I'm not saying they are, but you take Ironside out of that side.
15:47 And if he had not been fit this season, think where they'd be.
15:52 He has been a different class, hasn't he?
15:55 Yeah, absolutely.
15:57 Sorry.
15:59 Yeah, I was going to say, he's my player of the season.
16:02 I mean, him and...
16:04 He's just an Ironman in attack, isn't he?
16:08 He reminds me a lot of Alan Wallboys, who you two might not remember, but going back a long time.
16:14 He was the same sort of player where he can take the ball with his back to defenders
16:20 and battle against them and all the rest of it.
16:23 But he's been outstanding.
16:25 And the goals he's scored, to score that number of goals as well,
16:29 you know, goodness knows.
16:33 Well, they've had to pay him to come here in the first place,
16:35 but he's been worth every penny.
16:37 It's good, though, that he's coming back into a bit of form,
16:40 because I think he went seven games without a goal.
16:42 And on Good Friday at Crawley, I thought he looked out of sorts.
16:47 Even if the ball had dropped him in the box, I wasn't really fancying him.
16:51 And subsequently, Grant drops him in favour of Biamou, who's now out for the season, unfortunately.
16:58 But it's good that he's back in the mix and scoring goals.
17:01 Now Ironside, and you look down, and it gives me more than a glimmer of confidence.
17:07 You've got a couple of players in there, Wood and Ironside, chief amongst them.
17:10 Rowe as well.
17:12 They've got experience on their CV of promotion.
17:14 They know what the business end looks like.
17:17 And I think they've also got this mentality where they'll drag players along with them.
17:22 And that goes for McCann and Cliff Byrne as well.
17:25 They've been here with Hull.
17:26 They obviously had the previous disappointment with Doncaster in the playoffs,
17:31 but they know what it takes at the sharp end.
17:34 And I think they will lay down the gauntlet, as they have done for the previous 15 games.
17:39 And say, 'Look, you give us everything you can.'
17:42 I personally think it's going to take two wins and a draw as a minimum for Rovers to get there.
17:48 I don't think the home-and-hose by any stretch.
17:52 I think the hard work starts now.
17:54 It's been a heck of a run to get on a kind of even keel.
17:58 But I think this next 10 days, well, certainly the next week, will tell us everything we need to know.
18:05 You've gone for Ironside, Peter.
18:10 Who's your pick, Tom?
18:12 Yeah, well, I think it's probably going to be a clean sweep.
18:17 You get 20 goals, even with the penalties and the amount of kicking.
18:23 I just like his robustness insofar as he's always fit.
18:27 He's always fit.
18:28 He's always available.
18:30 He's always on hand.
18:32 20 goal-a-season strikers are like, you know, that's the art of football, isn't it?
18:38 Putting the ball in the back of the net.
18:40 So, yeah, Bailey a close second.
18:43 Yeah, I'd agree with that.
18:45 I think you've got to give a special mention to him, Bailey, because he's had a terrific season.
18:49 I think he's played every league game.
18:51 Yeah, he's started every one of them.
18:53 When everybody else is falling by the wayside, that's incredible, really.
18:57 By the way, when you mentioned about Ironside losing form a bit, I agree with that.
19:01 But he did have an injury at that time, which probably wasn't publicised a lot.
19:07 And he did have to come out of the team.
19:10 But, yeah, I don't see how many people could disagree with Ironside and Bailey.
19:16 I think with Bailey as well, the fact that he has played every game, he's started every game, so to say.
19:22 You look at his background at Newcastle, he had some really bad injuries.
19:26 I think he was out of the game for nearly two years.
19:28 And, you know, he's not that old by any stretch.
19:30 I think he's in his early 20s, possibly.
19:33 But, yeah, to have played every...
19:35 And it's his first season in the EFL as well.
19:38 So, yeah, full marks to him for starting every game so far.
19:43 We'll wrap it up shortly, but I just wanted to end with a prediction, really.
19:48 Three games to go, hopefully more to come.
19:52 But, yeah, Peter, I'll go with you first.
19:54 How do you see the season panning out?
19:57 It's a $64,000 question, isn't it?
20:01 I mean, anybody who thinks it's going to be easy, which I think a lot of supporters do from what's happened now
20:08 and think we're going to end up three more wins, no problem at all.
20:12 It's going to be hard.
20:13 And the way they've been playing, you know, you just can't back against them.
20:18 And what's more important is not what we think or we believe, it's what the players themselves believe.
20:25 Because I think that's what's brought them on this run.
20:28 And if they continue to play like they have done and have that belief, then, yeah, we can end up in the playoffs.
20:36 And who would have thought it?
20:39 Absolutely not. Thomas?
20:43 I honestly don't know.
20:48 Rovers, they've got to focus on themselves.
20:51 They've got to do it themselves and, you know, and then not leave anything to chance.
20:56 But I'm there speculating that if Colchester win tonight against Grimsby,
21:00 then they'll be pretty much safe and not have a great deal to play for.
21:03 So Rovers could go there and play a team that's on the beach.
21:06 But then so could Crawley because they go to Colchester on the last day of the season.
21:11 I think, sorry, Kroon play Colchester on the last day of the season.
21:14 There's all these permutations.
21:18 I think Rovers can get 71 points, whether that's enough or not.
21:23 Don't know.
21:25 So I think it'll go down to the last day anyway.
21:27 I think that'll be a bang on to happen.
21:30 But yeah, hopefully, like I say, three games to go.
21:34 Hopefully, fingers crossed it's six.
21:37 And yeah, thank you both for your time tonight.
21:40 Enjoyed chatting with you.
21:42 Thanks again for you all tuning in and for your comments and your questions.
21:46 If you missed any of it, it's available to watch from the start on our Facebook page.
21:51 And we'll do one of these, hopefully, very soon.
21:54 And like I say, hopefully it's not the end of the season after Gillingham.
21:58 So, yeah, thanks for tuning in.