19 year old Billy Whitehouse from Mexborough made his first professional start for the club in Tuesday night’s game against Notts County.
The Doncaster winger said he “had to look twice” when he saw his name in the starting line up."Naturally I was looking on the subs bench to see if I would get another bench appearance, then I saw my name in the starting eleven and had to look twice!” he said.
“I was nervous when I first saw my name but what an unbelievable experience playing against some good players.
“The longer you know you’re in the starting line up, the more you over think it. It’s better to just be thrown in without having to think about it and then you can ease your way into the game.”
Whitehouse played a full hour before being substituted on 63 minutes for James Coppinger.
“I am pleased with my performance. I think I put a few good crosses in and worked hard but overall the experience was amazing.
“Playing with people like Benno and Harry is a good learning curve for me. I think I did okay and now I have something to build on.
The youngster was also quick to heap praise on captain James Coppinger for the help he has offered.
“Copps has taken me under his wing this season and we regularly talk about how I can be better. You’ve got to look up to people like him and Richie because their experience is invaluable.
“I’m so grateful to Copps because I don’t think I’d be where I am without the help he’s given me.
“The gaffer is amazing as well. I never thought I would have had three appearances before Christmas, I never expected that.
"I’d just like to thank him for giving me my first start and I’ll probably talk to him more about the game at the end of the week and how I got on."
Whitehouse is the second of Rovers first year professionals to make his professional debut, with Mitchell Lund playing the full 90 minutes against Burton in September.
“There’s a lot of young players coming through the club at the moment which is great for us, and the gaffer has shown that if you get your head down and work hard in training you’ll get your shot."
Whitehouse’s three appearances this season have come in the FA Cup and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
“It would be nice to get a full league debut and hopefully if I keep working hard and take my chance when it comes I’ll keep myself in the picture."
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