The milestone of 600 senior career appearances may be here but Tommy Rowe is only focused on returning Rovers to winning ways.
Rovers’ club captain will hit the milestone in his next appearance, which could come in Saturday’s clash with Crewe Alexandra at the Eco-Power Stadium.
But he is unconcerned with personal accolades with Rovers seeking an upturn in fortunes.
On his upcoming 600th senior career appearance:
“It’s a good moment for myself. It’s not something I’ve tracked a lot throughout my career, appearances. I just try to focus on the next one as best as I can. Slowly but surely I’ve got to this point. It’s just been a case of doing what I’ve always done. Playing football is something I’ve done since I’ve been a kid and now at 34 I still share the same love for and I don’t think that will ever change.”
On having a positive influence on the squad:
“It’s hard not to come across as someone who thinks they know it all and I definitely won’t be going around telling people what to do. It’s about showing them what I do and if they think it’s good, they see something they can take on board. That’s how I was as a young player - I looked up to the more experienced ones and wanted them to see me and think I was a good player.
“If you’ve got similar people at a club you can find cultural architects, which is what they call them, who can carve a way for the rest of the group. I can see three or four people who are in that mid-stage of their careers who can definitely push this club forward.”
On fan frustrations:
“Myself, I always try to be open and honest with fans. I spend a lot of time in and around Doncaster and I have a lot of interactions with the public, fans and young kids. There’s no use in me lying to them and telling them things they want to hear because they see right through that. I’ve always had an authentic viewpoint whether it be after a game or when I’m in the area.
“It’s the only opportunity I have to generate that understanding because I’m not on social media. I listen to them and I tell the truth when they listen to my side and I think they like opportunities for us to have a conversation.
“I definitely understand where the fans are at right now. Hearing their frustrations first hand allows me to go back to work and try even harder to put things right.”
On what would mean success in the remaining games of the season:
“From the run that we’ve been on, it’s been massively disappointing. As a team and a club, we’re frustrated at the run of results in any fashion. We’ve got our way of training now to try to improve our chances of winning on Saturday. That’s the first thing that we can take care of and then things can happen with momentum.
“It’s about pride, it’s about respect and it’s about trying to win the next game. That’s always been the case for me. You can get bogged down with thinking long-term but we can’t do that now. We’ve got to put a performance in first and foremost because that is the only way to bring unity and to show the spirit and will for a winning team. We’ll start with that.”
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