Gaffer talks pragmatically about aims and objectives of warm up games.
Darren Ferguson looked to put pre-season friendlies in to some context ahead of facing Newcastle United on Wednesday at Keepmoat Stadium.
The Scot refused to get too carried away with either a 4-0 win over Rossington Main or a 2-0 defeat to Premier League Middlesbrough.
“These games are what they are and you have to treat them accordingly,” he said.
“One minute on Tuesday we look a good team and then today you can go away worrying about it.
“There’s a lot of stuff we need to improve on, which is why these are good exercises. It’s the right time in the season to look at them in detail with the players and say we want you to do this or that.
“I would have to say there’s a lot more to improve on than was good but you have to treat these games and look at them in the right way.”
Ferguson praised Man of the Match Riccardo Calder for his endeavour against Boro and emphasised that the Aston Villa loanee will be a crucial part of the first team squad once the season gets underway.
“He looked like a player that was going to take risks and really wanted to show everyone that he’s a good player and is a great example of what I am after,” said Ferguson.
“He’s a good player, he’s gone to a different level since he’s come back to us, he looks trimmer, he’s definitely fitter and he’s going to play a big part this season.”
Rovers will be without new signings Mathieu Baudry and Gary McSheffrey for most, if not all, of the pre-season schedule but Ferguson says that his side must remain staunch in the face of adversity.
“The key element of this season – and I’ve told the players as they may as well know now – whenever games are not going right this season, we need to be strong enough mentally and have the character to deal with that because we’re fully expected to get promoted, there’s no two ways about that,” he admitted.
“Our fans, you guys (media) and most of the league (expect it), and we’re not saying that we expect it ourselves but we’ll have to deal with situations when we’re frustrated and we have to deal with it.”
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