Darren Ferguson praised Liam Mandeville after the forward notched his sixth goal of an impressive pre-season in the defeat against Sheffield Wednesday at the Keepmoat Stadium.
Rovers were eventually beaten 2-1 in their penultimate game before the start of the Sky Bet League One season and it was Mandeville who caught the manager’s eye once again.
“Liam has a good habit of scoring goals, he was in the right place at the right time tonight and he’s given himself a great chance of starting the season in the team,” he said.
“He was up against tough centre halves tonight but he showed good strength, he’s filled out a lot and I think he’s a very good player as I’ve said for a long time.
“The one thing that stands out for me is that he’s scored poachers goals, the goal doesn’t move so if he stays in the right areas he will score a lot more for us.”
Ferguson felt that his side performed well against the Sky Bet Championship side, with a number of players being given their first 90 minutes of the pre-season campaign.
“I thought for an hour of the game we did well, when you play against a good side like them we had to look after the ball once we got it,” he added.
“There is still a lot to work on but I’m happy with that, the season is a long one and you’re never at your peak right at the start.
“The games are what improves you, I feel we’ve got the ability in the squad to be competitive every game but we won’t be setting any targets just yet.”