Ex-Cherries trio out to land jackpot

Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll and his No 2 Richard O'Kelly and striker James Hayter were all plying their trade with the Cherries in the corresponding fixture last season – also on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Little did any of the three men realise at the time the ramifications for them of the 1-1 draw at Belle Vue.

Rovers boss Dave Penney, who had steered the club to their highest league placiing for 50 years the previous season, departed within four days after paying the price for what was perceived to be a poor start.

Despite there being no shortage of big-name managers interested in the job, chairman John Ryan, who had paid tribute to O'Driscoll in the programme for the Bournemouth game, wanted the Cherries boss as Penney's replacement.

O'Driscoll was unveiled as the new Rovers boss 10 days after Penney's departure, bringing O'Kelly with him.

The two men renewed acquaintance with right-back James O'Connor, who the cash-strapped Cherries had sold to Rovers for 130,000 – still a club-record signing for a defender – during the summer.

It wasn't long before another player with Bournemouth connections, Brian Stock, was linking up with his former boss at the League One club.

O'Driscoll, who had sold Stock to Championship outfit Preston for a reputed 150,00 nine months earlier, sounded out the Lancashire club about taking him on loan after noticing that he was out of favour following a change of manager.

Stock subsequently became a Rovers player on a permanent basis during the January transfer window. As with O'Connor, Stock proved value for money.

O'Driscoll returned to his old club in the summer to land the free-scoring Hayter in a club-record 200,000 deal.

As was the case with O'Driscoll, Hayter had spent many years at Dean Court but was attracted, as his former boss had been, by the ambition at Doncaster.

It took the 28-year-old time to make his mark in the pre-season games, but he has netted twice since the 2007-2008 season kicked off and looks set to form a formidable partnership with last season's top scorer, Paul Heffernan.

Bournemouth's top scorer for the last five years, Hayter has been badly missed by the Cherries.

They lost five of their seven pre-season games – a sequence which incluced embarrassing defeats against non-League outfits Oxford Uniited and Weymouth.

They have yet to score in any of their three games this season with Hayter's replacement Jo Kuffour, hardly getting a look-in due to the lack of chances being created by midfield.

Unlike his predecessor, who has an enviable array of talent as his disposal, Bournemoth boss Kevin Bond has just two teenagers, who he has tended to rotate, in addition to the former Brentford man, in attack.

With little or no money with which to strengthen his squad Bond looks to be facing another battle against relegation.

Both Hayter and O'Connor will be looking to add to Bond's problems, but Stock – still recovering from a hernia operation – will be missing.