Paul Goodwin: This season should reveal a few truths at Doncaster Rovers

Are the play-offs within reach?

Or is talk of promotion pie in the sky?

And will Darren Ferguson - who wanted a bigger budget to bring in more experienced players - ultimately be proved right?

This season should provide a few very interesting answers.

And it will be fascinating to see how McCann gets on with a team which stabilized in League One last season and will now be expected to push on.

A 15th place finish last term was generally viewed as steady but unspectacular. It was a case of ‘job done’ more than anything else.

How Rovers do this season will put Ferguson’s performance into some sort of context: did he underperform, overperform or was it just about par for the course?

There has been much hullabaloo about the budget this summer. Is it a budget upon which a genuine promotion challenge can be built? This season should tell us more.

Is McCann right to back himself in such confident fashion? Is he the man to lead Rovers back into the Championship? He’s certainly talked the talk since getting the job. Let’s see if he can walk the walk.

And can this group of players learn from their mistakes last season and find that ruthless streak - at both ends of the pitch - on the sort of consistent basis that is required to challenge for the top six?

My own gut feeling is that the squad remains a mid-table one, still lacking slightly in depth and experience.

But there is obvious potential there.

And if McCann can build on the foundations in place and his attacking style clicks into gear this could be an intriguing campaign.

One thing is clear - the new manager needs a good start.

If Rovers do just that, and stay clear of serious injuries, anything is possible.