Marquis: I have nothing at all to prove to Palace
Doncaster’s John Marquis insists he has nothing to prove to FA Cup opponents Crystal Palace, despite being rejected following a trial at one of his local clubs.
But that will not stop the Lewishamborn striker from celebrating in front of his friends in the away end if he scores in today’s fifth- round tie at a sold- out Keepmoat Stadium, where Rovers are aiming to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
“Palace is not far from me and I went there on trial when I was younger and got turned down,” said the 26- year- old, who has bagged 22 goals in all competitions this season and scored in every FA Cup tie apart from the 2-2 draw with Chorley in round one.
“I was only a kid at the time and I managed to come through a different way so there’s nothing against them. I’ll just be looking to do what I do in every game, which is perform to the best of my ability and score some goals that will hopefully get us the win.
“My sister lives a stone’s throw from Selhurst Park and I’ve got a lot of friends travelling up that are Palace fans.
“They’re giving me a bit of stick saying they’ve got a bye through to the next round but hopefully we can cause an upset and take the smile off some of their faces.
“If I score I might give them a little wave.”
Marquis was understood to be the subject of bids from League One rivals Sunderland on transfer deadline day and although he was happy that Rovers refused to contemplate a deal, he acknowledges that things could change this summer.
“I sat down after training (on deadline day) and spoke to the manager and it was pretty clear what the stance was, that I wasn’t going anywhere, which was fine,” added Marquis, who was loaned out seven times by parent club Millwall before making a permanent move to Doncaster in June 2016.
“The summer is a different time and things may change.
“The club’s view on it may be different then with my contract going into the last year and depending on what league we’re in could also make a difference.
“I’ve always said I want to play as high as possible, I want to improve and I’m doing that at the moment at Doncaster. In the summer it may be a different story.”