Sponsored by
Doncaster Rovers: Brian Stock interview
Shooting for the play-off stars is all well and good – but skipper Brian Stock insists Doncaster Rovers' main mission is a safety-first one.
Emboldened by impressive victories this month against Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday and with one play-off spot looking open, daring to dream the seemingly impossible one of gatecrashing the end-of-season jamboree is a tantalising one.
* Click here to follow the YEP on Twitter.
And it would have been more than mere wishful thinking if Rovers had seen off Leicester City on Tuesday and cut the gap between themselves and the Foxes to just five points.
Despite the result, the fact remains that any one of nearly a dozen teams could still be in with a realistic shout of pinching a play-off berth if they put together a red-hot streak between now and season's end.
* Click here for latest YEP news.
It's fair to say Rovers are past masters at stunning second-halves of the season, most notably in a turbo-charged post-Christmas run last term when they amassed 13 victories – including a thrilling sequence of 10 wins in 13 games.
* Click here for latest Wakefield news.
Quite simply, it was promotion form and only play-off finalists Sheffield United amassed more points.
* Click here to watch latest YEP news and sport video reports.
The problem for the Rovers' class of 2008-09 was that they pocketed a meagre four wins in their first 24 games with their top-six hopes negated by their shocking start of which nipped their upwardly-mobile hopes in the bud.
* Click here for latest YEP news and sport picture slideshows.
Fast forward to this term and despite all the conjecture, classy midfield operator Stock and his team-mates aren't getting ahead of themselves – a wise philosophy given that back-to-back defeats to the Foxes and QPR have taken some of the shine off stand-out wins against local rivals Wednesday and Forest.
Keeping a grounded sense of perspective, Stock, a big part in Rovers' promotion to the Championship in 2007-08 and last season's 13th-placed finish – their best in half a century – said: "Fifty points, or 52 – whatever it looks like making this year to stay in the league – is our target and everything else would be a bonus.
"We're a small club compared to the rest of the league, pretty much. Our main priority this season was, and is, safety.
"To do that would be great, the sooner we get it, who knows where it can take us, but first things first.
"The sooner we get to 50 or 52 points, we can kick on and look above us
and you never know if we hit a few wins and back our home form with victories away.
"But there's no way we are getting carried away, the first aim is always safety as it should be."
Wales international Stock formed arguably the stand-out engine room combination in the Championship last term alongside Richie Wellens, with the pair taking to the second tier like proverbial ducks to water.
While play-maker Wellens' path was destined for Leicester in the summer with Rovers' board presented with a big-money seven-figure offer for a player who turns 30 next month which they simply couldn't refuse, Stock has remained a Rover, although that hasn't stopped speculation continuing.
The Hampshire-born ace was strongly linked with a January move to boyhood club Southampton, although boss Sean O'Driscoll vehemently rubbished talk of a bid and considered the Saints' interest as an unsettling tactic.
The likes of West Brom, Wolves and Fulham have also been linked with the 28-year-old in the past, although for his part, his thoughts are just centring on getting a regular run of games under his belt.
A serious ankle injury suffered in mid-September – which required surgery – resulted in Stock being ruled out for four months and he has been playing catch-up since, returning for the 2-0 win against Watford on January 15.
It's been hard going for the former Bournemouth and Preston North End pivot, but he has shown glimpses of his old self, producing a particularly masterful display in the derby win over Wednesday, which couldn't have failed to impress any watching scouts.
On the window interest from Southampton and on his future, he added: "It's my hometown club. But it would have been a really big decision for me to leave Doncaster, considering I'd be dropping down a league there and given that we are more than a match for any team in our league on our day and I'm happy here.
"Personally, I'm just concentrating on getting some games here again after my injury.
"I've had to sit out a few games just to get my body back to full fitness.
When you are out as long as I was, it takes a while to get back into the swing of things.
"The first game you play on adrenalin, and when the next few are Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday, it's hard to recover."
While it's been hard toil for Stock – who missed Tuesday's clash with Leicester and could face more time on the sidelines with a back injury – so far this year, there have been a few highlights all the same, the most noteworthy one coming in their top-notch victory at
Hillsborough on February, when Rovers claimed their first-ever league win at S6 and maiden double against their more exulted South Yorkshire neighbours.
It was an occasion many in the visiting West Stand will never forget, and is right up there with the best of their achievements on the road in the past few years, ranging from the never-to-be-forgotten Wembley success over Leeds United in the League One play-off final in May 2008 and last January's victory across the city at Bramall Lane to red-letter wins at Oakwell and Elland Road.
On another glory day for Rovers and claiming a historic double, Stock – who was at the heart of it all – said: "As a player, it's not the sort of thing you are aware of and you leave that the fans – but a double over our local rivals is so pleasing for the fans, who were fantastic all night and we need that support for the rest of the season.
"At times, we were back to some of the best football we've played all season and the performance was right up there. We needed a goal to cap it off and got one from Elliot (Ward), as previously it's been our downfall – having so much possession and not killing teams off.
"To get a brilliant goal like that was fantastic, but also Elliot's all-round display was different class.
"It was just a great strike, there's not a lot more you could have said about it. The technical ability was brilliant for a centre-half.
"I've played against him a few times and he is a big, tall lad, but he fits in with the way we want to play and his distribution from the back is very good."
Meanwhile, Stock has revealed that Leicester frontman Matty Fryatt has accepted his apology over the challenge which left the Foxes striker with a double fracture of the jaw just under three weeks ago.
Fryatt faces several weeks on the sidelines after suffering the injury in a collision with Stock when the two clubs battled out a goalless draw at the Walkers Stadium on February 9.
Stock said: "There is no way I would go out to hurt a fellow professional.
"It was a total accident and the first time that I have done something like this to another player. To see him in such a bad way was unpleasant.
"As soon as it happened, my only function was to make sure that he was all right. To injure a player isn't me and it isn't my style. I have been in touch with Matty and he's accepted my apology.
"I wish him all the best for a very speedy and full recovery."
No action was taken against Stock for the challenge and the Foxes did not take the matter any further, although manager Nigel Pearson was clearly unhappy after reviewing video footage of the match.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
