Manager Dean Saunders spoke to Rovers Player ahead of the game against Preston North End this weekend.
Dean confirmed that striker Iain Hume will not be available for selection against his parent club.
“It’s a bit of a blow to lose him but we can get round it,” he said
“He’s a good player who gets goals, but most of all he gives you everything he has got.
“He puts his head in where it hurts, he puts his foot in and he chases lost causes - I’ll put up with a player like that everyday of the week.”
Midfielder James Coppinger has been recalled from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest and although he is ineligible to part in the game at Deepdale, Dean confirmed that, subject to league clearance, he will be in contention for the New Year’s Day derby against Sheffield United.
“Hopefully he [Coppinger] will be ready for Sheffield United. Providing we get all the paperwork through he will be available on New Years Day.”
In other transfer news, Dean stated that he was actively looking to improve the playing squad and is looking at securing loan deals for players from ‘big clubs’.
“There’s players becoming available all the time,” he said
“I’ve just got to make sure that I start at the top of the list and try and get the best players available. I’m trying to get some players in on loan from big clubs but I’ve obviously got to look at a number of things; whether we are able to afford a certain amount of money wages wise, getting them to come and play at this level and I’m also conscious of the fact that I’m not upsetting the balance of the group – the players I do bring in have got to be better than what we have already got.
“I am trying to add two or three more players in the positions that I feel need strengthening.”
Speaking about our opponents on Saturday, Dean admitted that he believes it will be a tough game.
“They [Preston] have only lost seven games all season, although they have drawn a lot.
“The manager has built a new team from scratch, like we have, and it takes time to get the right formula, to get the players settled in and playing together.
“They’ve played well in a lot of games but only managed to pick up draws instead of wins. As a team they’ve only lost seven times in the games they’ve played so far so we know what we’re up against, it will be a tough game.
“We’ve got to play our own game, there’s no secret in football its good players working hard
“If you don’t work hard you’ve got nothing, if you have got a set of good players working hard you can achieve good things. We’ve got to go there and carry on what we have been doing, working hard.
“The defeat at the Keepmoat earlier on in the season will still be in the back of the players minds so they will be looking to put that right - we’ve watched the DVD’s on them so we know what to expect.”