by Adam Stubbings

A stirring second half performance on Tuesday night to see off Chesterfield has Rovers in confident mood after the disappointment of the defeat against Rochdale last weekend. The 3-0 win ensured a miserable return to the Keepmoat for former manager Dean Saunders, and moved us up to 16th in the table and finally starting to show some capability of pushing on into the top half heading into the Christmas period.

Winning a fourth league game in five outings will not be an easy task though, as Rovers travel to face the league leaders. Coventry City. The Sky Blues are on a 10-game unbeaten run in League One stretching back to the end of September, going top of the pile last Saturday with a thumping 4-1 win over Gillingham to leapfrog their opponents. Coventry have endured years of struggle and are currently looking to end an unwanted record of finishing outside of the top 6 in their division for 48 successive seasons, dating back to a 1967 2nd Division title win. Right now they look well placed to finally end that rut, but this purple patch surely has to come to an end at some stage and what better time than against the Rovers?

We did the double over Coventry last season, including a 2-0 victory on Boxing Day at a cold Keepmoat, but our only victories over the Sky Blues in four Championship seasons together were our first and last meetings with them – the first one of our first wins back in the second tier courtesy of a rare Richie Wellens screamer, and the last the game that relegated Coventry to League One the week after our own demise had been confirmed.

Nathan Tyson and Andy Williams both scored in the win over Chesterfield, which is just as well as our attacking options have become severely limited since the injury suffered by Keshi Anderson against Rochdale has seen his loan spell at the club cut short. The team is performing well at present with wing backs Ceddy Evina and Felipe Mattioni both impressive last time out, so it is perhaps fortunate for Rovers that the team is picking itself right now. A very young bench is likely to be needed again this weekend, but manager Darren Ferguson is looking to bring in another body, possibly a free agent with the loan window closing on Thursday.

by Paul Williams

We all wish Keshi Anderson a swift and full recovery following serious injury but the young striker has returned to parent club Crystal Palace to begin his recuperation and that leaves Darren Ferguson short of options ahead of this evening's game with Chesterfield.

Saturday's defeat by Rochdale was all the more disappointing in that Rovers had chances to win the game and the visitors had clearly set out their stall to take a point before scoring twice on the break in the last 10 minutes.

Preparations for the visit of the Spireites and former Rovers manager Dean Saunders have been hampered by a sickness bug that's sweeping through the club. It forced Richie Wellens to miss Saturday's match and several of his team-mates have also been under the weather. Richard Chaplow and Curtis Main are still on the treatment table but there is a chance that Mitchell Lund and Luke McCullough could be involved in some capacity this evening as their team look to get back on track.

Chesterfield are only one place and three points above Rovers in the table and are proving hard to predict. They are generally better on the road, however, and veteran striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake has been among the goals. But Saunders' team have lost three of their last four and have been conceding too many goals. Former Rovers defender Sam Hird has been filling in at right-back lately but could return to his more favoured position at the heart of the defence at the Keepmoat, where Chesterfield were beaten 3-2 last season – a repeat of that scoreline would be very welcome.

by Paul Williams

Rovers haven't lost to Rochdale in seven meetings and the form book is firmly in favour of Darren Ferguson's men as they return to Keepmoat Stadium following last week's dominating performance at Blackpool.

Doncaster have won four of their six outings under the new manager while 'Dale are without a victory in seven League One fixtures and have drawn a blank in four of those.

Rover's new formation seems to suit their personnel and they've won their last three by the same 2-0 scoreline. Andy Williams has rediscovered his confidence and has scored four times in those three wins, helped by the return to fitness of Nathan Tyson. With Keshi Anderson ready and waiting in the wings to add to Rovers' threat, teams are struggling to cope and it's got fans believing that a play-off push or better this season is still possible. Luke McCullough will return to the squad after captaining Northern Ireland U21s last week but Richard Chaplow, Rob Jones, Gary MacKenzie, Paul Keegan and Curtis Main are all likely to miss out again.

Rochdale have signed Manchester United reserve goalkeeper Joel Castro Pereira on loan for a second time and he could replace Josh Lillis at the Keepmoat. But Keith Hill may again have to do without Matty Lund, Jamie Allen and Reuben Noble-Lazarus.

'Dale's resources are being stretched and this looks a great opportunity for Rovers to continue their forward momentum on a day when a number of the club's legends will be in attendance to see the unfurling of new banners by the Black Bank, marking their lasting contribution to Rovers in the South Stand.

by Adam Stubbings

Back to back wins and a few new arrivals mean things are suddenly looking up for Rovers as the Darren Ferguson Era begins to take hold. Steps have been taken to bolster the defence in the past fortnight, whilst Conor Grant has settled well into a new-look midfield that appears to be giving Harry Middleton the chance to cement himself in the first team. Nathan Tyson may be lucky to keep his place on the visit to his former club after failing to find the net despite a hatful of chances in the last two games, with the returning Keshi Anderson competing for a place alongside Andy Williams up front.

The performances have improved game on game since that dreadful and deserved result away at Peterborough in the pouring rain last month, and the adopting of a new formation and new personnel have enabled Darren Ferguson to find his feet and endear himself to the Rovers faithful since his protracted arrival.

Last weekend's victory over Stalybridge saw us advance to Round 2 of the F.A. Cup, whilst Blackpool fell by the wayside in the 1st Round with a 2-0 defeat away to League Two new boys Barnet. The Tangerines followed up that embarrassing result by taking a 4-0 beating at Wigan in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on Tuesday night, their fourth successive defeat in all competitions that leaves them almost back at square one following a mini-revival sparked by a five match unbeaten run in the league that hauled them off the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone.

Don't be fooled by their recent dip though, this will be a tough test for a Rovers team struggling to find their feet away from home. Blackpool are actually unbeaten in five home games stretching back to a drubbing at the hands of League One pacesetters Walsall at the end of August, with the recent run of defeats all coming away from home. Neil McDonald's side will be relieved to be back on home turf by the sea, and with Rovers suffering bleak defeats at Peterborough and Millwall on their last two road trips, Blackpool may go into the contest as slight favourites despite being two places lower in the table.

The last eight meetings between the two sides all took place in the Championship, with our opponents unbeaten in six including four victories, with one of the two draws being a memorable 3-3 contest at the Keepmoat which saw Jay Emmanuel-Thomas strike sublime individual effort for Blackpool. You have to wonder if that performance is what eventually led to him signing for us later  that season.

Our last victory over the Seasiders came at Bloomfield Road the previous season, an eventful 3-2 victory which saw recent record breaker James Coppinger net the winning goal after débutante Charlie Adam had been sent off for the home side. Adam would of course go on to play an integral role in Blackpool's rise to the Premier League over the following 15 months, capped by scoring a superb free kick in the Play Off Final victory over Cardiff.

Rovers may welcome Keshi Anderson back to the starting line-up, and with Andy Williams back in goalscoring and new signings Felipe Mattioni and Craig Alcock set for league debuts at the back, there is reason for optimism and belief that we can come away from the seaside on Saturday with only a second away win of the season.

Over the past 12 months the Viking Supporters Co-operative have been working hard on our members behalf to work towards our aims & objectives and improve the overall match-day experience for all Rovers fans.
We also have regular communication with the club through several channels to make sure our members questions and opinions are heard.
(for our achievements over the last 12 months click "Read More" below)

Of course simply having a functional supporters trust is a good thing for any football club, even when things at the club seem rosy, yet we still want to do more -
more for our members, more for our local community, and more for our club.

We would like to invite you to join YOUR supporters trust now for just £12. That's less than 1 bag of chips a month!
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Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you at the AGM on the 21st November! (click here for more info).

Rovers Till We Die,
Viking Supporters Co-operative

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