Doncaster Rovers 'nowhere near' in Northampton Town defeat according to boss Ferguson

Rovers fell behind after 24 seconds at Sixfields and faced an uphill battle from there against a Northampton outfit who had failed to pick up a single point in their previous four league matches.

Ferguson's side were particularly poor in the first half and although there was plenty of improvement after the break, they simply could not break Northampton down.

In the immediate aftermath, the Rovers boss could only bemoan conceding so early.

"We spoke about the way they would start, with a new manager coming in, lifting the crowd and we made the worst possible start to the game," Ferguson said.

"After that we couldn't frustrate them like we wanted to.

"We had a lot of the ball and didn't do enough with it. We weren't quick with it, didn't move it quick enough, play it forward quick enough.

"So, it was a really disappointing day.

"That's four blanks out of six matches now and it's an issue that has to be sorted.

"The second half was better. The last 15 minutes in particular there was a real urgency to our game because we're 1-0 down.

"If we played like that the whole game then the outcome would be different.

"But it was nowhere near.

"For 20 minutes of the first half we got complete control of the game, had one or two openings.

"But I think we only had two shots in the first half. It's not how I want us to play.

"I have to reflect on it and look at it again."

Ferguson reserved praise for James Coppinger only as he came off the bench at half time and was the real driving force behind the second half improvement.

He said: "The other substitutes, Alfie May did fine and Jordan Houghton did fine.

"But James Coppinger was the only player we had today.

"He was the only one who showed any imagination, anything creative.

"That for me, as a manager, is not a good thing to say but it's how I feel at the moment."