Mills gets his chance

Manager Sean O'Driscoll said: "Matthew has settled in well since joining us on a six-month loan deal from Manchester City on Thursday and is now available for selection after completing a three-match ban at the weekend.

"He didn't play in many pre-season games for City so he needs match practice."

Fellow centre back Steve Roberts will play his first game after a facial injury in the club's opening pre-season game at Retford early last month.

The likes of Bruce Dyer, Sean McDaid, Lewis Guy, Craig Nelthorpe and Ben Smith, who have yet to start a game since the season got under way, were also pencilled in to play some part in today's game.

The game is the first since Rovers pulled out of the Pontins Holidays League at the end of last season due to a number of reasons including the fact that the set-up at the Lakeside Sports Complex failed to meet Football League regulations.

Said O'Driscoll: "We can do what we want in games like today as against playing in the Pontins League. There are a lot more options available to us and it is more flexible. We can play three 30-minute periods and we can switch and change systems and play people for as long as we want."

O'Driscoll is hoping that left-sided midfielder Martin Woods will be fit for Saturday's home League One game against the boss's old team Bournemouth.

Woods limped off with an ankle injury in the first half of Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Hartlepool United.

O'Driscoll said: "It was quite sore after the game and Martin didn't train yesterday and he won't train today. He has got a bit of a strain but we are hoping that it will settle down after another couple of days rest and that he will be able to resume training on Thursday. Martin might need to have the ankle strapped for a couple of weeks; we'll have to see how things go."

n The Disabled Supporters' Club meet at the Park Hotel tonight (7.30).