Grant McCann moving quickly as Doncaster Rovers look to re-energise after years of stagnation

The 43-year-old hopes to have offers out to some of the "seven or eight" signings he wants to make this summer before his first week back is over. Hopefully it is a sign of a club which had been left to stagnate being re-energised, as he is.

"When you're out of work absolutely nobody rings you but as soon as you go back in your phone never stops," says McCann with a smile.

"We're in conversation with quite a few players in all sorts of different positions so hopefully we can get some offers out this week."

The Rovers McCann left in 2019 were gearing up to push for the Championship again after losing the League One play-off semi-final on penalties. The one he returns to is at a low ebb, 18th in last season's League Two, its lowest finish in 20 years.

Five coaches have been sacked since, often scapegoats for wider problems at a club suffering from under-investment, unwilling or unable to fight back against the financial damage done by Covid-19.

McCann has turned down job offers since his second spell at Peterborough United was cut short in January, so it was important Rovers sold him an idea he believed in. Even before he was appointed, owner Terry Bramall had publicly promised to turn the taps back on.

"We feels there's a budget that can bring in some good additions at this level and hopefully the one above," says the former Barnsley midfielder.

"I believe we need seven or eight players just to make us competitive next season. Forty-six games in one season is tough, particularly in Leagues One and Two. You need to be able to bring one or two out and one or two in without really weakening your team.

"I've been offered some really good jobs in this division and the division above but I made a clear, conscious effort to pick the right one and the right people to work with, a chance to build something and have a good push at promotion.

"I'm really familiar with Terry, David (Blunt, the chairman), Gavin (Baldwin, chief executive) and I worked very closely with them the last time I was here. Copps (head of football operations James Coppinger) was a player."

The investment is not just about players. Whilst predecessor Danny Schofield was grafted onto the existing staff, McCann has been able to bring his erstwhile assistant Cliff Byrne and is on the lookout for a first-team coach.

He also believes he has a group of players he can build on and felt it was important he could meet the bulk of them and the off-field staff on Tuesday morning before people disappeared on their holidays.

"We had a good and bad time meeting some of the players regarding next season and I had a meeting with the players who will definitely be here," he says.

"There's some good young players who have had an opportunity this season in League Two and it's been difficult because of one thing after another.

"There's a good blend of experience but we need to keep them fit and on the pitch, the likes of Tom Anderson and Jon Taylor can be huge for us next season. I've worked with Tommy Rowe before and he's a 12 to 13-goal man from midfield at this level and the league above.

"I like the blend. I like players like Bobby Faulkner and Kyle Hurst in their first season this year. Luke Molyneux's a lad I really like and if I could have I would have taken him to Peterborough."

The elephant in the room has been quickly dealt with too.

McCann walked out on Rovers for a better, better-paid job at Championship Hull City, like many would given half a chance. When it is a football club, the organisation its supporters see as the most important on the planet, snubs like that can be hard to take.

But with the club in such dire straights and the healing of time, the jilted appear willing to forgive and forget.

"One of the questions they (the Rovers hierarchy) asked me was about why I wanted to move in the first instance and I was just honest," says McCann. "There's no point lying about it, it was the opportunity to manage in the Championship, it was better for my family and if you haven't got that motivation to be the best in any profession there's no point, really.

"I had no bad feelings at all about this football club, I loved it, I loved the people I was working with, the players I had and we were on our way to recruiting again to try and have another challenge in League One. Darren Moore had the fruits of some of the players we brought in.

"They've been brilliant with me since I came back, the messages I've had, and I'm here to repay them hopefully with good performances on the pitch.

"It's a shame it's come now. It's good for me that I can work on pre-season but when you sign for a new club you just want to get going."