It is with sadness that the VSC learnt the news of Andrew Watson taking the decison to leave his position on the Board of Doncaster Rovers.

We have been aware for some months that Andrew had been considering stepping down from his Board position as Vice Chairman, which he undertook in 2016, and had been expecting this day to come.  Obviously, we would have preferred Andrew to stay, especially as a lifelong and passionate Rovers fan with the club's best interest firmly front and centre in all he did for and with the club, and we did express that opinion, but we have the utmost respect for him reaching this difficult decision.

It would be remiss of us not to mention that his participation in our club, and that of the wider Watson family, has been incredibly beneficial to all of us. Their presence in our club has seen the success, on and off the field, exceed anything that we could possibly have imagined as recently as 15 years ago. They have helped create the conditions to enable some wonderful memories, but what many fan's maybe wont appreciate is just how Andrew has participation in our fan engagement schemes. Our meetings with him found him to be enthusiatic and productive and helped the club and fans build something enduring and beneficial, something that he can always be proud of.

Andrew's sister, Sarah, is also stepping down from club involvement.  We hope to see them and the family around the stadium sometime soon, when we all can get back to enjoying our club and supporting the team. Andrew and Sarah leave with our best wishes and our continued friendship.  

It just remains to say a huge thank you to them for all they've done for the club and the fans.

Following months of discussions with Doncaster Rovers Football Club over formalising the commitment of the club and fans to work together, the VSC is delighted to announce that we and the club have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).  This document provides a written framework for how the club and the VSC will operate together to ensure that fan's views are represented in the key decisions taken at the club that have an impact on supporters.  It defines activity around regular contact and meetings and defines actions placed on both the club and the co-operative.

Martin O'Hara, the VSC's secretary said "We are delighted to announce this MoU as a pathway to ensure that supporter's views are consistently heard in the strategic decisions directing the club forward that have an impact on them.  This document provides a written agreement to supporters with an assurance that the club will be receptive to their comments and ideas, and that communication will be open and constructive between the club and the VSC.  It is a major achievement for club and trust to be one of the first to agree this approach and underlines the relationship that the VSC already has with the club and the value within that which is recognised by both parties"

The terms of the MoU operate with immediate effect.

VSC Secretary Martin O'Hara talks to partners Fansbet about how the trust's relationship with the club has developed over the years. Martin also explains how the trust's first payment from FansBet will be spent.

by The Rovers Review

Grant McCann is set to take charge of his first competitive home league game this Saturday, as Rovers welcome League One new boys Wycombe Wanderers to the Keepmoat.

McCann highlighted Wycombe's high energy as the key threat for Rovers this weekend, stating they need to match or better that in order to pick up a result,

"First and foremost, we must match their energy, they're a very energetic team - especially in midfield so we have to make sure we match than if not better it.

"They're a very strong team, Gareth's done an outstanding job there to move them to League One with very limited resources but they're a threat, they have threats all over the pitch without naming anyone but we have to make sure we nullify them but make sure out threats can hurt theirs.

"Home form is key - if you want to have a promotion season then you have to be picked up as many points as you can at home. It would be wrong of me to say you have to win every game at home but we want to make sure we have a huge chunk of wins here this year."

Rovers will be without new signing Ali Crawford, who picked-up a recurring knee injury in the 3-2 win over Southend, meaning he won't be able to make his Keepmoat debut. MCann refused to put a timescale on the 27-year-olds recovery.

The Chairboys will be bringing former Rovers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa back to Doncaster, who featured nine times for the club in 2004, scoring four goals during that time before moving away to Torquay.

At the age of 36, Akinfenwa is still going strong, netting 29 goals in 82 appearances under Gareth Ainsworth.

Wanderers have a new number one in town, Ryan Allsop who joined on a permanent deal from Premier League side Bournemouth, after originally being on loan from the Cherries in 2016, where he made 18 appearances.

Most recently, Allsop has had spells at Blackpool - where he guided them to promotion out of League Two - and Lincoln City where he won the Checkatrade Trophy.

The last time Rovers and Wycombe met was in League Two during the 2016/17 season, where Ferguson's side failed to beat the Chairboys on both occasions, drawing 2-2 at the Keepmoat before losing 2-1 at Adams Park that April.

In fact, Rovers have never beaten Wycombe in their history out of the five times they have faced each other.

by The Rovers Review

Darren Ferguson is backing his side to spoil Wigan's party by beating them at the Keepmoat this afternoon.

Not much rides on the game for Rovers but if they beat Wigan and Blackburn win elsewhere then the title will be Blackburn's.

Ferguson said: "It has been spoken about [how sick they are of teams celebrating on their turf]. Unfortunately, we've ran out of gas a bit - I feel some of the players have played too many games, similar to last season.

"The energy is there to a degree but there are people who have played too many games and if the injuries hadn't occurred I could have perhaps would've mixed my squad around a little bit more.

"It's going to be a tough game but also a good game for us because a lot of people are probably expecting us to get nothing and I think it's important that we try to finish well."

Captain James Coppinger will be a doubt for the final match after being sidelined for the last two games with a 'niggle'.

Long-term absentee Danny Andrew could return with Ferguson saying the 27-year-old could play around 15-20-minutes on the last day of the season.

Wigan come to the Keepmoat with the best away form in the league, collecting 48 points from 22 games played away from the DW Stadium - Rovers' home form is average with them collecting 30 from 22 games.

Paul Cook's side is undefeated in their last seven games - with their last defeat coming away at Portsmouth. Ferguson's team, on the other hand, have only won two games out of eight towards the final part of the season.

Rovers got played off the park in the reverse fixture, with the Latics coming out with three goals to the good on that occasion. The last time Wigan came to Doncaster they lost 3-1, after going a goal up through Will Grigg in the first-half but being shunted by two Andy Butler goals and an Andy Williams penalty - this was also the same season Wigan were aiming for the title too.