Rovers goalkeeping coach Paul Gerrard talks about the competition between the sticks.
Doncasterroversfc.co.uk met up with goalkeeping Paul Gerrard ahead of the Crawley game to look at how the two new keepers are settling in.Paul, you’ve started this season with two new keepers. How is it going?
It’s going well. Jed (Steer) came with a good reputation from a Premier League side. He was highly recommended and is a talented young goal keeper, so I’m very pleased with him. He’s a very discerning lad who is keen to get to the top, so that’s what I want both in training and on match days.
Marko (Marosi) was disappointed to be released by Wigan, but he’s an international goalkeeper with Slovakia U21s, so has a good background. If he gets his head down and works hard, he will have a good future ahead of him as well.
What have you worked on specifically in training with regard to strengths and weaknesses?
We worked on different things with Ross (Turnbull) last season as he is such a tall lad and very experienced. We worked on the speed of his footwork around the goal. With Jed we are working on getting him into the corners more on shots, so it is a different approach. The strengths you keep on top of and the weaknesses you work on in training to improve them.
We’ve also got the young keepers. Do you get involved with the youth keepers as well and, if so, how?
Yes, if I get chance, Jack McLaren will come across and train with the first team keepers. I think it’s good for him to be involved not just with myself but also the senior keepers so that he can watch and learn from them. So, whenever I get chance, I take him away from Paul Wilson and Paul Stancliffe for as long as possible, and then he goes back to the youth side.
How would you describe your relationship with analyst Adam Smith?
Adam is fantastic. He normally does all the video clips for the gaffer and Paul Butler, but anything I ask for with regards to clips on the opposition putting free kicks in and penalties, he puts all that in for me. On the other side, when Jed plays with Marko in the Under 21 development squad, he gives me all the clips on them throughout the game. We analyse the clips to see where we can improve and where we’ve done well, and just take it from there to put it on to the training pitch.