"It's our style, we're sticking to it" - Defiant Doncaster Rovers stance on playing style

Every time Thimothee Lo-Tutala took a split-second longer than they would have liked, or when he played it into Matty Craig with a Wimbledon attacker snarling at his heels, Doncaster Rovers fans' hearts seemed to skip a beat.

Once the preserve of Premier League sides, the ploy of playing out from the back is now adopted by an increasing number of teams lower down the pyramid.

Rovers are no different, even though the inevitable by-product of employing such a tactic is that sometimes it might go awfully wrong. Thankfully last Saturday, nothing of the sort happened.

It's these kinds of risks that Rovers supporters will therefore need to get used to. When it does come off, and they beat the opposition press, it can result in wonderful, free-flowing moves – as perfectly seen in the first goal during the recent trouncing of Grimsby.

Tom Anderson is one of the squad's longest-serving players and at 30, also one of the elder statesman. Playing out from the back is not necessarily something he nor the fourth tier is known for. But the centre-half is fully embracing the approach, which he says takes courage to employ.

Only one player - the aforementioned Craig - recorded more touches of the ball than Anderson in Saturday's latest victory. But nobody racked up as many passes (55) as the long-serving centre-half, suggesting he is more than happy with the demands Grant McCann has placed on his team.

"It's what football is these days," the former Burnley man told the Free Press. "It's how young players are getting taught to play when they come through now.

"But that takes a lot of courage and a lot of bravery to do. It's not easy. I get the fans sometimes want to see it get forward but this is how we play and that's our style. We're sticking to it and we're getting good at it.

"We've just got to keep doing it, keep being brave. And as you've seen, when it does come off then it's very good football. Teams can't deal with it so if we keep doing it, let's see where it takes us."

Rovers return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Walsall.