Gary McSheffrey insists Tuesday’s opponents Hartlepool United cannot be underestimated despite their winless status so far this season.
The Rovers boss heads to the north east with his side for the Sky Bet League Two fixture and expects a tough test from Keith Curle’s Hartlepool.
McSheffrey on the test of Hartlepool:
“I went to watch them on Friday [against Mansfield]. They found a way to get a draw out of the game and finished strong when it looked like they were beaten.
“Mansfield played really well and missed some big chances but you’ve got to put the ball in the net and be disciplined at the back. A couple of individual errors cost them and Hartlepool put them away.
“They’ll be coming into this one on the back of a really good result and the confidence of getting a last minute goal. They’ll fancy themselves to get a win.
“They have drawn quite a lot so they are difficult to beat and break down. But it’s a place that we feel we can go and get a result if we apply ourselves right and play to our capabilities.”
On finding a way to win:
“We have found a way. Sometimes it’s not been pretty and the games haven’t been that entertaining but winning games in the Football League isn’t easy.
“We’ll take the wins, whoever we come up against. We’ve won the last couple, and I’ll include the cup game in that, quite well.
“The Rochdale game wasn’t pretty but there wasn’t ever a point in the game where I felt they were peppering our goal. We felt quite comfortable without playing that well in possession. We were organised defensively and I felt like we were always going to win the game.
“We just have to keep doing that.”
On how League Two is panning out:
“It’s still really close and a couple of wins shoots you right up or you can shoot right down.
“We’ve still got a good chunk of teams to play before we’re half way through, until we know inside out what everyone is about.
“There are some surprise elements. You think you know how a team is going to play but then they shock you and do something different. So far, we’ve adapted quite well barring a couple of games and got some good results.”
On confidence in the Rovers camp after three straight wins:
“Hopefully the lads are feeling good and full of confidence.
“We’ve had to use quite a lot of the players, rotate a bit with some of the injuries and hurdles we’ve come up against and everyone is champing at the bit to get a start.
“We’ve got some good options at the minute.
“We had a bad 12 days. It happens and it’s just what you make of it. We’ve bounced back and it’s been a good positive response.”
On Joseph Olowu’s facial injury:
“He’s going to go to see a specialist about his face. We spent a good few hours in A&E with him at the weekend and had some x-rays and scans but he’s got to see a specialist.
“He got a whack to the face and it really swelled up. He’s not in a good way at the minute.
“We need to find out if he needs surgery. There are some fractures around his eyesocket.
“If it doesn’t, it’ll be symptomatic and we’ll try him in a mask. We have to respect the injury and make sure he is safe to play in the future. We’ll know more in the middle of the week.”
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