Jones baffled by Doncaster’s home suffering

DONCASTER captain Rob Jones admits he is at a loss to explain Rovers’ bout of homesickness which is threatening to afflict their League One promotion bid.

While Rovers have been nigh on imperious on their travels – their 3-0 success at Preston North End last Saturday equalled their club record of 11 away league games without defeat dating back to 1946-47 – it has been a different story at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Rovers, who have lost just once on the road in the league this term – winning nine games in the process – have already seen their colours lowered five times at the Keepmoat, the same amount of wins they have managed at home.

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It is the worst return of all the top 10 sides and a cause for concern for Rovers, who saw two potentially costly points go begging in their 2-2 New Year’s Day draw with high-flying rivals Sheffield United.

Jones said: “Our away form has been fantastic all season, but at home we have been indifferent.

“If we knew why it was, we would change it. It is one of those million-dollar questions.

“We are working extremely hard to improve our home form. We know it is not as good as we would expect it to be.

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“We have just got to be thankful for our away form, in terms of keeping us up there at the moment.

“We are trying everything we can to correct it (the poor home form) and put it right and thought it was going to happen against Sheffield United

“It was probably the best we have played at home all season. We played extremely well, so we feel it is coming.

“But we should have had the game wrapped up against a side above us in the division as we bossed the game.”

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Despite two damaging decisions against the Blades – the award of a controversial 80th-minute penalty and Billy Paynter’s dismissal seven minutes later – Jones insists he and his team-mates need to move on quickly.

Rovers will be seeking some recompense in Saturday’s home encounter with Colchester United, and Jones added: “We have an important game on Saturday and cannot dwell on what happened.

“We need to put Tuesday to bed and put it out of our minds.

“There is no point having a hangover about a game we can now do nothing about.

“We have got to be mentally strong and move on, it is as simple as that.

“Yes, it was a kick in the teeth. But on the positive side of things, we played really well and scored two goals and could have scored a lot more.”