Doncaster Rovers: Ferguson throws down play-offs gauntlet

Darren Ferguson has refused to speak about the play-offs. Until now, that is.
Darren FergusonDarren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson

After Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Gillingham, the Scot appeared to throw down the guantlet to his players to finish in the top six.

But to achieve that, he says Rovers will have to be the best team in the division for the remainder of the season.

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Ferguson was disappointed with a point against the Gills despite his team recovering from 2-0 down in the closing stages.

With his side currently well adrift of the top five - and six points short of sixth-placed Peterborough United - Ferguson admits there is little room for error if Rovers wish to reach the play-offs.

“Unfortunately for us we’re not in a position where we can slip up too much if we want to be successful this season,” Ferguson told The Star.

“Now, for me, if we’re going to be successful - i.e. get in the play-offs - we’re going to have to be the best team in the league for 20 games.”

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Ferguson’s frustration with the draw against high flying Gillingham is a good indicator of the sort of standards he is setting at Rovers.

“The standards have got to be there. They can’t drop,” he said.

“They dropped against Rochdale, we got beat. They dropped against Scunthorpe, we got beat.

“I don’t think they dropped to that level on Saturday.

“When we’re at a level where our standards are good, there’s no question we’ll win games in this league. We’ve shown that. We’ve wiped the floor with some teams.

“We’ve set ourselves a challenge, let’s see how far we can go. But we’re going to have to be really good.

“The simple thing is if we get to the standards we can, we are a really good team.”