New head groundsperson Dylan Thompson is hoping to continue Rovers’ run of collecting honours for the standard of the Eco-Power Stadium playing surface.
After several years of being highly commended in the annual awards, the Rovers staff were named the Sky Bet League One grounds team of the season last summer.
Thompson returned to the club earlier this year having previously worked as part of the grounds staff and is keen to maintain the high standards set.
“The lads are great,” the 25-year-old said. “They’re full of confidence and hopefully we can win something like that in the future as well.”
Over the last few days, clubs have been celebrating #GroundsWeek to highlight the contribution of grounds staff and volunteers as well as the importance of the industry in ensuring sport can take place at professional and grassroots level.
That is no different at Rovers, with our dedicated staff maintaining the pitches at the Eco-Power Stadium and Cantley Park, as well as the surrounding areas at the Club Doncaster Sports Park.
Doing so has been particularly challenging in Thompson’s early days leading the team, with the February storms and a demanding fixture calendar presenting plenty of issues.
“It’s been a little bit hectic,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of home games with the football and a couple of rugby games as well so it’s been challenging.
“The weather has been extremely challenging as well. We had two storms fall on the weekend where we had football-rugby-football.
“I was thrown straight in at the deep end but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“It’s great to be back and nice to see some familiar faces and new faces. It’s been great to get in and get going.”
Thompson, from Kirk Sandall, was previously the grounds maintenance manager for the Football Association of Wales and also worked at Sheffield Wednesday.
For more information on #Groundsweek, run by the Grounds Management Association, click HERE.