Doncaster told not to relax

Last updated : 30 January 2009 By Donnysteve

Sean O'Driscoll has told his Doncaster players not to get carried away after moving out of the Championship relegation zone.

The Rovers boss masterminded a 1-0 win away to high-flying local rivals Sheffield United on Tuesday to move up to fourth from bottom, level on points with Norwich.

But while O'Driscoll hailed it as his side's best result of the season, his praise came with a warning.

"I don't think we have been fixated by the league table all season and I would be disappointed if the boys now looked at the table because we are out of the bottom three and didn't maintain the level of performance," he said.

"Now we are out of the bottom three, the danger - psychologically - is that they switch off a little, but no-one in the dressing room is shouting from the rooftops."

O'Driscoll, who also has next week's FA Cup replay against Premier League high-flyers Aston Villa on his mind, is likely to shuffle his pack again after bringing in more physical players for the game against the Blades.

"Ideally, I would have rested one or two players against Aston Villa last weekend and played a fresher team against Sheffield United, but I don't think the players would have been too happy with me," he said.

"This was a game where I felt it was right to play our biggest team - with all the corners, free-kicks, and long balls in mind. Tactically, it didn't change anything, but it allowed us to cope with aerial bombardment.

"We had to put a lot of effort into the game against a Villa side sitting fourth in the Premier League - so to maintain that level of performance three days later against United was excellent."

Securing a replay with Villa was good for Rovers, but O'Driscoll was criticised in some of the national media for his low-key reaction to it.

"I got accused of being grumpy and disrespecting the FA Cup last weekend, but that was ridiculous because I had a game against Sheffield United on Tuesday night to think about," he said.

"Whatever people say about the FA Cup, this was a bigger game for this club. It would have been no good getting a good performance and a good result against Aston Villa and then not turning up at Sheffield United. That would have been a complete waste of time."