Midfielder David Syers has enjoyed his time with Rovers so far, and he exclusively revealed to us that he is expecting a successful season, not only for the team but for himself too.
Syers has impressed during pre-season, although he admits it has been a tough task up to now. Referring to the recent friendly match against Sheffield Wednesday, he commented;
‘It was always going to be a tough game’.
‘Sheffield Wednesday are a team that have just been promoted and are full of confidence, so it was a good test against what is going to be a really good Championship side – it was good to get out on the Keepmoat pitch for the first time.
‘We all know that we have got the makings of a decent team here, but without a doubt we do need more players to progress from being a decent team to becoming a very good team, and a good squad as well.
‘It is difficult training with a lack of numbers when you’re trying to go through certain things. At times we’ve had Brian (Carey) and the gaffer joining in to make up the numbers. It doesn’t necessarily help when you are trying to get fit and sharp for the start of the season – we’re all professionals so we have to deal with that.
‘As you can see, we have got some very good players here and it’s only going to take a few additions to make us a very good side.
‘Training everyday with a core of players here who have played Championship football, on a quality training ground like Cantley, has certainly helped me to progress, but I’ve still got a bit of progress to make before the start of the season.
‘I’m sharp and getting chances, and like I’ve said before, playing with this set of players is going to make me a better player and help me improve.
‘It was good to push from the 45 minutes that I have had in previous games, to 60 minutes, and hopefully I will progress from there again in one of the games before the start of the season.’
Syers admits winning is not the be all and end all in pre-season, but the main priority is to make sure that when the season starts the players are fully prepared.
‘It’s good to win any sort of games, but at the end of the day the main thing is to be ready for the start of the season against York, and then more importantly against Walsall away – it doesn’t really matter what happens between now and then as long as we win our first league game.’
‘I think we’re preparing in the right way, starting against the non-league clubs to build a bit of fitness up, and then moving onto Grimsby where I thought we showed how good a team we actually are.
‘We had Rotherham next, which was a tough game, and then you play three Championship sides which really does sharpen you up before York and Walsall.
‘When you get a result in pre-season it’s great for the person who has scored; it’s good for them to be hitting the back of the net and it does build confidence – if you’re winning it means you are playing well so it’s a bit of a confidence boost.’
David has set himself a target of reaching double figures for goals, and is confident he can do that with the players around him consistently finding him.
‘I always set myself targets to get into double figures, and with the likes of Copps, David Cotterill and Kyle Bennett putting balls into the box, I know I’m going to get chances as long as I keep getting into the right positions – it’s up to me to get that scoring touch and start putting them away.’