Town boss Paul Jewell says he’s unlikely to emulate his predecessor Roy Keane and make widespread changes to his team for this evening’s game at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium (KO 7.45pm). Skipper David Norris is out injured and the Blues manager is weighing up whether one or two players might need a rest after a hectic schedule in recent weeks.
Jewell said: "I’m not a great believer in making wholesale changes, Colin Healy will come in for Chuck and there’s a possibility that Jason Scotland might start.
"We’ll see how we are. We’ve had a lot of games in a short space of time and a lot of travelling. Some of the players have been away on international duty too, so we have to take these things into consideration.
"But I’m not one for making changes for the sake of it, I like players playing, especially when we’re winning.”
Despite a run of form which has seen them gain only four points from their last eight matches, the Town manager says Doncaster are not to be taken lightly: "I said before the home game that they’re a bit like the Arsenal of the Championship, they pass the ball and play without fear.
"They’re on a sticky run at the moment, but in this Championship teams are very, very similar. There are no easy games, no games where you think you can just turn up and be at 60 or 70%, you have to be at full tilt at all times and it will be no different at Doncaster.”
Jewell says his team mustn’t think they are out of the relegation zone quite yet, despite the run of four games without a defeat which started with the 3-2 victory over Rovers at Portman Road last month: "There are 17 or 18 games still to go and loads of points to play for. We can’t sit back thinking ‘We’ve done all right’, no team’s ever stayed up with 38 points in my experience at this level. We’ve got to look forward, but not get complacent.
"Like every game in this division it’ll be very, very tough. There are no easy games. We beat them here two or three weeks ago, so they will be keen to get one over on us. They’re not on a good run at the moment.
"Doncaster are one of those teams which play the game the same way week in, week out whether they win, lose or draw, so we’ve got to go there, compete and try and get the ball down and play.”
The Blues boss is also keen for expectations not to be set too high at this early stage in his time at Portman Road: "My mate said to me the other day that I’ve got to be careful not to do too well because people will start expecting too much! I saw a newspaper lying around in the hotel and I saw the word ‘Wembley’ mentioned and thought ‘Oh my God!’.
"We came here and we were three points from relegation and the remit was to make sure we stay in this division.
"We’re making progress, so let’s just take each game as it comes and whatever happens - and we’ve not given up on anything this season - we’ve got to make sure we get enough points to make sure we’re here next season.”
Jewell is a huge fan of his Doncaster counterpart Sean O’Driscoll: "He’s done a brilliant job. I remember when he first went there that things didn’t go that well, but chairman John Ryan stuck by him and he’s had opportunities to go to Premier League teams that he’s turned down.
"He’s a highly sought-after manager and he’s done great. People say that great managers win stuff, but it’s not about winning stuff, it’s about getting the best out of what you’ve got, and he’s certainly done that.
"He’s got a philosophy that he’s going to stick to. He’s a very quiet man, but a complete football man as well.
"He did the same at Bournemouth. If any manager lost a job at the moment, he’s one of the main candidates, whether it’s the Premiership or Championship.”
Despite their reputation for passing football, the Blues boss says that as with any team they can vary things if they need to: "We all admire the way Doncaster play the game, but I saw the stats from the match against us and they’re not afraid to knock it long as well because that’s part of the game.
"I watched Barcelona on Saturday night and they were trying to score against Sporting Gijon and as the game got closer to the end, they went long. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
Aside from captain David Norris, who twisted his knee and ankle at Barnsley and is out for at least a couple of games, the Blues have no new injury worries. Striker Ronan Murray is OK after picking up a thigh strain in the reserves win at Oxford last Wednesday in which he scored twice. The Irish U19 international is in any case unlikely to have been on the flight which left for South Yorkshire yesterday afternoon.
Midfielder or full-back Shane O’Connor is still out and Jewell says he’s unsure when he’ll be back: "Shane has had appendicitis and he’s not training at the moment.
"We’re not sure how long Shane will be out for. He’s a tough little so and so. They’re waiting to see how it goes, he might need an operation or they might go with pain killers, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Alan Quinn is recovering after undergoing his second groin operation a fortnight ago, while keeper Brian Murphy is out of plaster and around five weeks away from a return to action after his broken ankle.
Jewell is likely to stick with the same backline from his last three games with Márton Fülöp in goal, Carlos Edwards at right-back, Mark Kennedy on the left and Damien Delaney and Gareth McAuley in the centre.
Colin Healy will come in for David Norris in the centre, ahead of Jimmy Bullard and Grant Leadbitter, who may deputise as captain in Norris’s absence. Mark Kennedy is another option for the armband.
Lee Martin and Connor Wickham will continue in the wide roles with Jason Scotland likely to make his first start under the new management regime, Tamás Priskin perhaps needing a rest after a long international trip to Dubai with Hungary last week.
New signing Andy Drury could make the 18 for the first time, although Jewell may instead choose to add Luke Hyam to his subs with Town short of central midfield options at the present time.
Veteran Doncaster goalkeeper Neil Sullivan will undergo a late fitness test on a shin injury which has kept him out of action in recent weeks with Gary Woods continuing as his deputy if the former Wimbledon, Tottenham and Leeds man fails to make it.
On-loan Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason is out with a leg injury, while midfielders Simon Gillett (knee) and Martin Woods (groin) are also currently sidelined, along with defenders Wayne Thomas (calf), Shelton Martis (ankle) and Mustapha Dumbuya (knee), and striker James Hayter (calf).
Last month, Paul Jewell’s first home game in charge of Town saw the Blues come from behind to gain their first victory over Doncaster since 1957.
The visitors went ahead in the first half through Billy Sharp but David Norris and Connor Wickham put Town in front after the break, before Sharp equalised, only for Carlos Edwards’s deflected shot to take all three points.
Sharp’s second goal at Portman Road was the last scored by a Doncaster player, a Michael Duff own goal having given them their 1-0 home victory over Burnley earlier in the month.
Town were last at the Keepmoat Stadium in September 2009 when then-manager Roy Keane’s former Manchester United team-mate Quinton Fortune netted a late equaliser for Doncaster in a 3-3 draw.
Earlier, the home side had gone ahead twice via Waide Fairhurst and Martin Woods with the Blues hitting back and then getting in front through Jack Colback, Tamás Priskin and Lee Martin.
Historically things are very even over the few meetings between the sides, Town having won three, drawn four and lost three, one of those the only cup tie involving the clubs, Rovers’ 2-0 Carling Cup second round win at Belle Vue in September 2004. The Blues have never won a game at Doncaster.
No current Rovers player has been with the Blues and no member of the Town squad has played for tonight’s opposition.
The Blues were interested in signing Doncaster midfielder Simon Gillett in the summer, before he opted to move from Southampton to the Keepmoat Stadium, while Town midfielder Alan Quinn might have been on his way to the South Yorkshire club on loan but for the groin injury which has sidelined him all season.
The referee for tonight’s match, which was originally scheduled for the Christmas period but was postponed due to a frozen pitch, is Select Group official Mark Halsey, who has shown 51 yellow cards and one red in 23 games so far this season.
The Lancashire-based official was most recently in charge of a Town game only a couple of weeks ago in the Carling Cup second leg defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates in which he booked Connor Wickham and Gunners defender Laurent Koscielny.
Halsey is best remembered amongst Blues supporters for his extremely harsh red-carding of Liam Trotter in the FA Cup third round tie against Portsmouth at Portman Road in January 2008. Halsey also denied Town what looked like an obvious penalty during the closing stages of the Blues’ 1998/99 play-off semi-final first leg against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.
Squad from: Fülöp, Lee-Barrett, Edwards, Kennedy, Delaney, McAuley, Smith, O’Dea, Leadbitter, Bullard, Healy, Hyam, Martin, Peters, Wickham, Civelli, Drury, Scotland, Priskin.
Story syndicated from TWTD.co.uk