by Adam Stubbings

Having fallen into the relegation zone in cruel circumstances, Rovers are desperate for a 'Good Friday' to lift the spirits at the club.

On this Easter weekend, Darren Ferguson and his players must at all costs find a way to resurrect the season with two critical fixtures over four days. First a trip to Colchester, bottom of the league and almost certain to be dropping into League Two next season, followed by a true 'six-pointer' against fellow relegation rivals Blackpool at the Keepmoat Stadium on Easter Monday.

The players pulled their socks up and put in a good showing last time out against Peterborough, but calamitous defensive errors once again cost us dear as an early lead was squandered and the visitors snatched all three points in injury time when Riccardo Almeida Santos capitalised on the brainlessness of goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann to tap home a rebound. The manner of the defeat has become all too familiar for Rovers fans, suffering through a season of slapstick stupidity at the back.

The club has to put things right this weekend, taking on the division's bottom club who recently ended a 19-game winless run that still just about puts our current slide to shame. A 2-1 victory at Bradford their only win in the last 23 League One outings, a run that has seen them fall to the brink of dropping out of the third tier for the first time in almost two decades. Rovers even defeated the U's in that time, a 2-0 victory at the back end of October that gave Ferguson his first home win in charge.

The manager has finally sought to reinforce a youthful squad lacking fight, first bringing in Wolves winger Tommy Rowe who made a solid debut off the bench on Saturday, then bringing in Scunthorpe forward Gary McSheffrey. Both have vast experience at this level and have a better idea of how to handle a relegation dogfight than some of our younger heads, and a promise to sign one or two more players before the loan deadline should encourage fans. Time is running out now to save our League One status, but these two games over Easter could be the makings of survival for Rovers.