Doncaster Rovers' new loan signing Simon Gillett, is in contention for a starting place in Saturday's Championship derby against Barnsley at the Keepmoat Stadium.

The 23 year-old played his first game for the club in a practice match against Manchester City on Tuesday and impressed the Rovers management. "He's a player who we've tracked for the last couple of years," said Rovers No 2 Richard O'Kelly. "For whatever reason he's not fancied at Southampton, but one man's meat is another's poison and, as I say, he's a player we've always rated. "He showed in the game against Manchester City, just as we thought he would, that he's our sort of player. "He can see a pass; he has the ability to switch play and he can see a through ball. "He's a good all-round player. He can sit in front of the back-four or he can push forward." Both James Coppinger and John Spicer played half a game against City and suffered no adverse reaction and are set to feature against the Reds. Midfielders Mark Wilson and Dean Shields, who both stayed behind and had further treatment on Tuesday, were both expected to resume full training today. Looking ahead to Saturday's game, O'Kelly said "It will be our third derby in our last four games. "We did well in the previous two. I thought that we played really well at Scunthorpe and probably losing the two players cost us a win. "We didn't play so well against Sheffield United, but we showed a lot of battling qualities and reacted really well when they came back into it. "The 4-1 defeat at Barnsley last season was probably the low point of the campaign. We were 1-0 and cruising and they then had a man sent-off and after that we conceded four goals without reply. "We also lost against them at home, so we will be looking to put the record right. "They've got a new manager in Mark Robins and he's brought quite a few players in on loan. It will be a tight game but we're looking forward to it."