Doncaster Rovers v MK Dons - Darren Moore demands a response after ‘perplexing’ week

The arrival of the Doncaster Rovers chief helped galvanise the club following the shock departure of Grant McCann in the close season, with the feel-good factor soon harnessed by the popular former captain.

But a bump in the road has arrived by virtue of back-to-back exits in the FA Cup and Leasing.com Trophy this week, with the pain intensified for Moore after witnessing two performances that he was not expecting.

Perplexed was the word that Moore used to describe Wednesday’s Trophy loss to Leicester City under-21s – when a number of players handed a big chance were likely to be hurting afterwards after failing to take their opportunity in the wake of Rovers’ previous defeat to Gillingham.

Either way, you sense Moore will find out plenty about his team today, whoever he fields.

Moore said: “Sometimes when you finish a game, you need to analyse it and go into depth on the details and I was perplexed with the Leicester performance.

“It was like somebody put the handbrake on. Some players had an opportunity and they did not grab it with both hands.”

Elminations from two knock-out competitions has, at least, allowed Rovers to now focus all their energies on league matters, with the club playing catch-up with games in hand on rivals.

“We have got some games to catch up on now, so we have got all our ‘eggs in one basket’ in terms of focusing on the league now,” the Rovers chief added.

“We have started December and it will be a busy period with Christmas coming. There is some work to do.”

The likes of Ben Sheaf and James Coppinger are likely to be among those restored to the starting line-up today.