Bobby Faulkner’s ‘old school’ qualities as a defender has first team manager Gary McSheffrey excited to work with the Rovers youngster.
Doncaster-born Faulkner this week agreed a new two-year deal with his hometown club and will look to accelerate his path to senior football over the coming season.
With a strong physical presence, the 18-year-old is already a commanding figure defensively, as he demonstrated last season during his loan at non-league Frickley Athletic.
And McSheffrey is relishing the prospect of polishing a rough diamond to create a strong player for the club.
“I’m excited because he’s a bit of a throwback,” McSheffrey said. “The non-negotiables that you want in a young footballer, he’s got them. He’s got the mentality.
“He’s got a lot of work to do because he missed out on a lot of technical and tactical work in his schoolboy years. He didn’t come through a youth system.
“But we’re looking forward to developing that and we feel he has the raw materials that will give him a great chance.”
Faulkner was handed his first professional contract in November and was involved in numerous matchday squads for the senior team last season.
Progressing him as a player to move him closer to becoming first team ready is McSheffrey’s target for the coming year.
He said: “It’s very much a progress season, a development season for him. He’ll do pre-season with us, get some minutes and I think he’ll get a decent non-league loan.
“We need to get him as many games as possible while he’s still training with us every day and see how he develops.
“He’s got time on his side and we want to put a lot of work into him.”
An ankle injury for Faulkner saw a loan move to promotion-chasing National League North side Boston United fall through late last season but McSheffrey says he will be raring to go at the start of pre-season training.
“He’s back out there doing his work and he’s up to full fitness,” McSheffrey said.
“He’ll be there for the first day of pre-season along with some other good players that we’ll have back and he’ll have the mentality that he’ll want to play.”
