Doncaster Rovers: Ferguson happy for players to take credit for fine festive stamina

Rovers capped a superb Christmas run with a draw at Peterborough United on Monday, earned with a 94th minute equaliser.

Ferguson shuffled his squad for the run of four games in nine days with only four outfield players starting every game.

But for being able to battle until the end of their fourth match, the Rovers boss said his players must take the plaudits.

“We’ve managed that period fine but the players take all the credit for how they’ve looked after themselves,” he said.

“It’s how they’ve even the right food and done the right things.

“To be fair, the three Christmases I’ve had here, we’ve had eight wins, two draws and a defeat so as a group we’ve done things right.”

More than good stamina, Ferguson put his side’s excellent form down to finding the winning mentality.

And he pointed to the 1-0 win at Bristol Rovers as the starting point, which led to two wins and a draw from the following three matches with only one goal conceded.

“The players have had a good winning mentality about them,” he said.

“The win at Bristol kickstarted the whole thing and we’ve gone on from there.

“The disappointing thing for me at Peterborough was to concede such a soft goal that for us meant the pendulum of the game shifted and gave them something to hang onto.

“At that time I thought we were very good and dominant on the ball.

“For me, that is a game we should have won.

“If I look back and analyse it, that’s a game we should have won.”

Ferguson rewarded his players with Tuesday and Wednesday off this week to help with their recovery from the busy period.