Dismal Doncaster Rovers display against Notts County leaves Grant McCann with questions to ponder

Doncaster’s summer overhaul led pundits to back them for a major improvement, while Notts County have bolstered a squad already fancied for a promotion tilt.

Early season humblings have been experienced by both, issuing a stark reminder that League Two opponents are unrelenting and roll over for no one.

When the two sides clashed in South Yorkshire, it was an opportunity for someone to mark their status as a force to be reckoned with.

It was an opportunity Doncaster did not grasp as they fell to a 3-1 defeat.

They were disjointed and bettered by Notts County in every department – outfought, outran and outclassed.

Macaulay Langstaff ran riot in the National League last season, cultivating a reputation as a feared marksman.

He was lively against Doncaster but the defence he faced did not make life particularly difficult for him.

The forward was unmarked when he scored both of the two goals he notched.

Jodi Jones added a third before the hour mark had been reached and although Deji Sotona netted late on, the damage had been done.

Doncaster boss Grant McCann had a sombre expression in his post-match press conference, seemingly struck by an unsavoury blend of anger and sadness.

He said: “For all their play in the first half, we had three very good opportunities where we should make it count and we don't.

"Then, we concede off a cross into our box and we leave somebody who scored 40-odd goals last season free, which is unacceptable. It then happens again straight after half-time, we don't pick him up, he's in the middle of our goal and it's a tap-in.

“There's a lot of questions for me and my staff to speak about this evening and tomorrow. There's a long way to go in the season, we can't keep saying this though.

"It's been a poor start for us, we've given our fans absolutely nothing to cheer about in the three games that we've had and it's a really disappointing day for us.”

During his first spell in charge of Doncaster, McCann’s side were known for their ruthless streak. They were aggressive and played on the front foot, so much so that McCann was propelled into a Championship job on the back of his achievements with them.

McCann is back at the club but similarities between his old side and the one he leads now have proven tough to identify.

He said: "What I see at the minute is teams with more energy and more aggression than us out of possession and that's something I can't live with.

"I can live with getting beat when a team is head and shoulders above us and stuff like that, and at times today Notts County were. They've been together for a while. I can't live with people not running, working.”

“We need to understand why people aren't getting to the ball, why people aren't sprinting, why the energy's not there. Is it something we're doing in training? I don't know.”

Doncaster Rovers: Lawlor, Nixon, Olowu, Wood, Senior; Roberts (Faal 45), Bailey, Westbrooke (Sotona 45); Molyneux (Broadbent 45), Ironside, Rowe.

Unused substitutes: Jones, Faulkner, Maxwell, Straughan-Brown.

Notts County: Stone, Baldwin (Rawlinson 62), Brindley, Cameron; Austin, Palmer, Bostock (O’Brien 63), Jones (Chicksen 75); McGoldrick (Scott 63), Langstaff, Crowley (Nemane 63).

Unused substitutes: Slocombe, Adebayo-Rowling.

Referee: Ben Atkinson (Cheshire)