Doncaster Rovers v Mansfield Town: Grant McCann tells players 'you can either throw your toys out of the pram or you can remain calm' after Newport County hammering
What Tuesday's League Two game at home to Mansfield Town has in store for Rovers is anybody's guess, but McCann says he will not be over-reacting to a scoreline which made his team look like plonkers at Rodney Parade.
The truth is that they are almost certainly not as bad as their losing start to League Two suggests, or as good as their League Cup shock would have you believe either.
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Hide Ad“There’s two ways that you can go about it – you can either throw your toys out of the pram or you can remain calm,” reasoned McCann. “I know what I’ll do. I’ll remain calm and I’ll make sure I pick the players up and go again.
“It’s a three-game week and that’s all we can do. We can’t let it linger, we have to address it and move on.
“The players lacked serious energy and it’s something we have to look at. They are fit. It’s hard when you go 2-0 down, in the manner that we did as well by gifting two goals to them. It’s frustrating.”
McCann stuck with 10 members of the much-changed side which beat Hull, but was impressed with the impact debutant Mo Faal had from the bench the day after joining on loan from West Bromwich Albion.
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Hide Ad“I thought he was good when he came on,” said the manager. “I wish I’d have brought him on earlier to be honest.
“You can see what he’s about. He’s hard to play against and showed real maturity for his age when he came on I thought. It was a good debut from him.”
Since drawing 2-2 at Crewe Alexandra on the opening day, Nigel Clough's Stags have enjoyed back-to-back victories without conceding.