Doncaster Rovers: Grant McCann explains why he pulled plug on Danny Andrew contract talks

Grant McCann revealed he was the one to end contract negotiations with Danny Andrew after growing tired of attempts to squeeze more money out of Doncaster Rovers.
Danny AndrewDanny Andrew
Danny Andrew

Left back Andrew had looked all set to sign fresh terms with Rovers after reaching the end of his deal but, after repeated back and forths between his team and the club, talks were ended at the behest of McCann.

The 28-year-old is now expected to sign for a League One rival with Rovers pressing on in search of a replacement.

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And McCann has laid bare his feeling of frustration at months of talks with the defender.

"Around about January time we first offered Danny a new deal,” he said.

"The deal we felt was fair. It was a lot more than what he was on, and for an extra two or three years or whatever it might have been.

"It was more Danny's agent who got involved at that point, saying 'no chance, he won't be saying for that.'

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"The conversation I had with Danny after that was saying let's wait until further down the line.”

McCann admits he saw a drop-off in Andrew’s performance levels when contract negotiations were at their peak so he insisted on putting them on the backburner until later in the season.

"I'd spoken to him, I think before the Scunthorpe away game and I felt his performance in the game was poor,” the Rovers boss said.

“Whether that was with me speaking to him beforehand about a contract, I don't know but for two games after that he was really poor - probably the worse he'd been since the first four or five games of the season.

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"I said to Danny that I felt it had affected his game so we'll wait until the end of the season, which he was fine with.

"We got to the end of the season and sent a renewed offer to Danny and his agent, a lot more than we initially offered. He came back and said he wants this. Credit to my board and Gavin and the chairman, they give him it.

"To be honest with you, I wasn't too keen on that because it would have put him right up there with the highest paid left backs in League One.

"Because I like him, I think he's a great lad, a great character, because I like the way he can move, he can run and he can play in our team, I went with it.

"The contract was agreed.”

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McCann was keen to have the deal signed with Andrew preparing for his wedding earlier this month and the stag party and honeymoon surrounding it.

"When Danny came in to see me on the Tuesday after the Charlton game when I met with all the players individually, we spoke about him wanting to have his contract signed and done before his wedding,” he said.

"I told him the offer would be sent to his agent that day and that it was both what he and his agent wanted.

"He left me saying he wanted to get it signed before his wedding.

"It went on and the contract wasn't signed.

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"I got in touch with Danny and his agent. His agent told me to leave him alone because he was getting married and I told him that Danny had wanted it done before then.

"We never heard anything from them and myself, Gavin [Baldwin, CEO] and Mary [Lally, secretary] were trying to get in touch.

"We even emailed the contract over so all he had to do was print it off, sign it and scan it back to us.

"It just got to me.

"I gave Danny and his agent an ultimatum and 24 hours to sign the deal.

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"His agent came back to Gavin kicking up a fuss and I told Gavin to pull the plug.

"That's the way it is. It's no skin off my nose.

"Good luck to Danny, good luck to his agent and we'll move on."

Andrew departs Rovers having made 62 appearances across two seasons, scoring five goals.

After his first season was ended in August by a knee ligament injury, he played every league game of the following season as Rovers reached the League One play-offs.