What a difference a week has made

THEY say a week in politics is a long time… it certainly is in football.

This time last week there was an air of doom and gloom hanging over the Keepmoat Stadium following two successive League One defeats and a 2-0 reversal at Plymouth Argyle in the second round of the Carling Cup.

Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll found himself coming under pressure from a section of fans - though he retained the full support of the Board – and a number of players hadn't been doing themselves justice.

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But the picture is looking much brighter ahead of tonight's League One clash at Northampton Town at Sixfields, following successive wins over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday and Bradford City in Tuesday's Johnstone's Paints Trophy first round tie at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Striker Paul Heffernan said: "The win at Swansea gave everyone a massive boost. They were one of the form teams and the reports that the club had on them suggested that they had been playing very well. Swansea is always a tough place to go and I don't think many teams will win there this season."

On paper, at least, the trip to Sixfields for a rare Friday night game doesn't look anywhere near as daunting.

The Cobblers have yet to win in four starts and they are languishing just above the relegation zone with just two points.

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Rovers will also take heart from the fact that they beat the Cobblers at home on their previous visit to the council-owned Sixfields last December.

Heffernan was one of the players on target in the 2-0 win which was rated as one of Rovers best away performances at that stage of the season.

Heffernan said: "It would be nice to score again tonight – though the main thing is that we come away with another win."

The club's top scorer last season with 20 – a tally which would have been nearer 30 had he not missed large chunks of the second half of the campaign due to injury – has yet to hit the target in the league this season.

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Heffernan's only goal to date came in the 4-1 Carling Cup first round win over Lincoln City at the Keepmoat Stadium. The top scorer in last season's Johnstone's Paint Trophy, the former Notts County and Bristol City striker hit the woodwork twice in the 5-1 rout of the Bantams in midweek.

He said: "Although I haven't been scoring as many goals as I would wish, I have been pretty happy with my form in most games.

"It didn't help that we played poorly at Hartlepool and Plymouth and at home to Bournemouth, but hopefully we have turned the corner now as a team and the goals will start to flow again.

"It has been suggested that I have become a marked man, and defenders certainly seem to be trying to close me down quickly in the box. I don't know if I am more of a marked man now than I was last season, but if I am I will have to raise my game which I am confident that I can do."