Grant McCann was pleased to see Rovers heed his calls for a fast start at Grimsby Town which laid the groundwork for the impressive 5-1 triumph.
Rovers were two goals up inside the opening eight minutes at Blundell Park and quelled thoughts of a comeback from the hosts by scoring the third just six minutes into the second half.
Clashes between the two sides always bring a feverish atmosphere and with the game being a near sell-out, McCann had emphasised the importance of Rovers getting on the front foot quickly in both halves.
“I think when you’re playing in a derby game, away from home, with a full house, you have to start well,” he said. “We made the boys aware of that in the last few days to start well and be on the front foot.
“I thought we did that in both halves really well and that has won us the game - starting the halves well, scoring goals in the early stages of both as well. It’s really pleasing.
“I thought the first 15 or 20 minutes, we started really well and obviously scored two really good goals in that spell as well. But for whatever reason, we stopped doing what got us into that position. We didn’t win enough duels and second balls.
“We just reset at half time. I said to them ‘you’re a good team, get on the ball, play the ball, pass the ball, get forward and be positive.’
“We started the second half really positive for the kick-off and a decent routine got us a corner. That just set the stall out for the second half and I thought the boys were outstanding. We defended everything they threw our way and we scored some very good goals as well.”
