Manager talks of eliminating risk and steering Rovers to safety.
Darren Ferguson is looking to strike the right balance when Rovers host his former side Peterborough United at Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday.Ferguson, who took charge of over 350 games for the Posh was dealt no favours when he returned to London Road as his charges were beaten 4-0 in October’s reverse, and is looking for Rovers to record their first win in thirteen games.
“You always look to try different things, it might be tactically because of the opposition but clearly I need to look at simplifying it as much as I can for the players to make it as easy as it can be my instructions,” he said.
“The preparation we do for games is excellent and players know what they need to do on and off the ball but maybe it’s about taking away risk and making it as simple as we can.
“It’s always about getting the right balance. We’ve had an unfortunate habit of conceding early goals and going behind in games.
“It’s something we’ve looked at and on the other side, we haven’t created enough chances so it’s about getting the right balance between being defensive and creating chances.
“What we need to make sure we concentrate on is eliminating the risk; particularly of early goals on the counter attack.”
Ferguson, who should be able to call upon returning captain James Coppinger, expects a long overdue win to change Rovers fortunes as they search for the coveted 50 points mark which should ensure League One safety.
“I think experience will help perhaps people who’ve been in this situation before,” said the Scot.
“James is a big plus coming back; he’s trained this week and seems fine. He’s been at the club so long and he understands the position we’re in, that’s a big bonus. Craig Alcock will be back too.
“We believe that the one win has to come soon and we all believe that will get us up and running – there is evidence of that previously in the season. That’s been part of the problem in a sense as we all understand – and are all responsible – for the run we’ve been on and its not been good enough.
“We went from bottom two form to top two form when I came in and if you went to winning every third game then there probably wouldn’t be so much criticism I feel and people would look from the outside in at it as a normal progression.
“The remit for me was to keep the club in the division and my time in the summer will be to do what I want to do. The start we had, with the form we were in, expectations went to a whole new level.”
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