McCarthy: Doncaster Will Raise Their Game Tuesday, 25th Aug 2015 06:00 Town boss Mick McCarthy says he expects League One Doncaster Rovers to raise their game when the Blues visit the Keepmoat Stadium in the second round of the Capital One Cup this evening (KO 7.45pm). The South Yorkshiremen have made a disappointing start to their season, drawing three and losing one of their first four League One games. Their only victory so far was their first round Capital One Cup tie win against Leeds, which they won 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw. “Everybody seems to raise their game when they’re playing against a team from a higher league and I think that will be exactly the same tomorrow night,” McCarthy said at yesterday’s pre-match press conference. “I believe [Rovers boss Paul Dickov has] got a few injuries and problems but I think it’ll be about how we play, I always do.” He added: “I’ve just watched them against Wigan, they drew 0-0, I watched bits of them against Port Vale, but the game which stood out most was the one against Leeds in the last round, Championship opposition. “Leeds had one sent off but you could just see that there was almost more of a competitive edge because they were playing a Championship side and everybody was wanting to put a feather in their cap by beating a team from above them, especially a Yorkshire derby. Doncaster-Leeds would be a tasty affair.” McCarthy says Rovers have some dangerous players: “Andy Williams would come to mind because of all the goals he scored at Swindon last year. “There's also James Coppinger and I guess it depends on who’s fit and who plays. They’ve got a fair bit of height as well from freekicks and corners. They’ve got a big tall left-back [Aaron Taylor-Sinclair], who is about 6ft 3in and they’ve got Rob Jones, who is about 6ft 5in tall. “It’s like any game, you can go there and play really well and not score and get done from a freekick or corner, so we’ll have to deal with that as well.” The Doncaster squad includes two former Blues loanees, midfielder Richie Wellens, who played in McCarthy’s first few games in charge at Town, and Richard Chaplow, who was here at the end of last season. “Both contributed, certainly Chaps did in that game at Watford,” he recalled. “Richie was great while he was here. But it was difficult for him travelling up and down from Leicester. “He contributed while he was here on loan, as did Chaps. We’ll see what they’re up to tomorrow.” Overall, the Town boss is pleased with the way the first few weeks of the season have gone, but isn’t getting carried away at this early stage: “It’s a good start, isn’t it? Unbeaten in four and top of the table. But that’s just what it is. “If we’d had four draws and we were down at the bottom of the table I’d be saying exactly the same thing - it’s four draws. “And if we’d had four defeats I’d be trying to be my usual pragmatic self and thinking it’ll turn around. “So you won’t see me getting carried away with it, that’s for sure. I’ll enjoy it, I am enjoying it, it’s nice. "Of course it’s nice to be top of the table and playing well, although we didn’t play well on Saturday and Preston could have been in front, a couple in front. "But we had to win it in a different way. We had to scrap it out and I thought we got better in the second half. “It was a bruising encounter for both teams, it was a really hard-fought game, I thought they played very well in the first half, I think we edged it in the second and there were certainly two bits of quality in our goals that’s for sure.” How does he regard the Capital One Cup? “As a game to win. Are we likely to win the cup at this stage? Probably not because whatever happens the top Premier League clubs will go all the way and then put their best side out for the final and they usually get there, although Wigan disproved that theory in the FA Cup, of course. We’ll just try and win the game, but I will be changing the team.” Having announced his side the day before the Stevenage match, McCarthy is keeping his cards closer to his chest this time around. “I think if people want to sit down and think about it they’ll probably get most of them,” he added. “Josh Emmanuel and Myles Kenlock are both playing and one I’m really looking forward to seeing is Adam McDonnell.” The Town boss wouldn’t be drawn on whether keeper Michael Crowe would be handed his Blues debut in goal with Dean Gerken set to play against Brighton on Saturday with Bartosz Bialkowski in Poland following his father’s death at the weekend. Emmanuel will be at right-back, Kenlock on the left and Josh Yorwerth will be at the centre of the defence probably alongside Christophe Berra. The Scotland international is likely to wear the skipper’s armband if Luke Chambers isn’t involved from the start. In midfield, McDonnell will make his Blues debut in the centre, perhaps alongside Giles Coke. Jay Tabb may be on the left and Larsen Touré on the right. Up front, David McGoldrick and Brett Pitman could get the nod as they did against Stevenage with Freddie Sears having started all Town’s league games so far and Daryl Murphy out with his calf problem. New signing James Alabi will be hoping to make his debut from the bench at some stage. McCarthy is likely to include one or two of his more experienced players amongst his subs. Teddy Bishop and Kevin Bru, who have both been out with hamstring problems, and Jonny Parr, who is on the way back from a thigh problem are not yet ready to return, while Luke Hyam remains sidelined having undergone knee surgery over the summer. Polish defender Piotr Malarczyk is understood to have travelled to Ipswich for talks yesterday afternoon but the deal is highly unlikely to be completed in time for him to be involved this evening. Doncaster will be without striker Nathan Tyson and winger Harry Forrester, while forward Dany N'Guessan and midfielder Paul Keegan are doubts. Rovers boss Dickov, who held clear the air talks with his squad on Sunday following Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Port Vale, says his side need to begin the game positively. “What we have to do is start on the front foot," he told the Yorkshire Post. "It is a great game for us. They are top of the Championship and it will be a tough test. “I have said all along that good cup runs are important to the club for lots of reasons. It breeds confidence in the players, it can bring a financial aspect to the club and it gives the fans a big boost as well. “Everyone will be expecting Ipswich to win so it takes the pressure off us. We are capable of putting in a good performance.” Dickov says there won't be wholesale changes to his side with his options limited at present: “We can only deal with what’s in front of us and Ipswich is the next game. "With the sort of injuries we’ve got at the minute, the squad’s picking itself really. So there might be one or two changes but no more than that." The Blues and Doncaster last met in the competition at the same stage in the 2004/05 season when the South Yorkshiremen won 2-0 at their former home Belle Vue with Ricky Ravenhill and Jermaine McSporran on the scoresheet. Town's last visit to their current ground, the Keepmoat Stadium, was on Boxing Day 2013 when they ran out 3-0 victors - McGoldrick (2) and Chambers - with Rovers on their way to relegation from the Championship. In the following April the Blues completed the double by recording a 2-1 win at Portman Road. Murphy and skipper Chambers scored for Town either side of Chris Brown's penalty for Doncaster. Tonight's match will go to extra-time if the game is a draw after 90 minutes and penalties if the scores are still level after the additional half an hour. The draw for the third round will be made after tonight's matches with the Premier League sides in Europe entering the competition. If they win this evening, the Blues will be ball number 12. Full numbers here. Third round ties will be played in the week commencing September 21st. Doncaster’s supporter liaison officer, Dean Metcalf, has posted information for travelling supporters, including a downloadable guide, on the TWTD forum here. Prior to kick-off there will be a minute's silence as a mark of respect to those who died in the Shoreham air disaster. Tonight’s referee is Scott Duncan from Northumberland, who has shown 13 yellow cards and no red in four games so far this season. The namesake of Sir Alf Ramsey’s predecessor as Town boss was last in charge of the Blues in March during the 1-1 home draw with Brentford in which he booked Jonny Parr and four Bees. Prior to that he took control of the 1-0 win at Charlton in November 2013. Squad from: Gerken, Crowe, Emmanuel, Kenlock, Knudsen, Chambers, Berra, Yorwerth, Smith, Skuse, Coke, Douglas, McDonnell, Tabb, Touré, Fraser, Maitland-Niles, McGoldrick, Pitman, Sears, Alabi.
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