Doncaster defender hopes to make things right this month
JOE WRIGHT wants Doncaster Rovers to get back on track after a forgettable October.
Rovers ended a miserable month with a 2-1 loss at Coventry City last weekend.
It meant Grant McCann’s side picked up just four points from a possible 24 during the entire month.
That was in sharp contrast to an impressive September which saw them remain unbeaten, dropping just two points along the way.
Defender Wright, who netted only the second goal of his career against the Sky Blues, is now looking for a response when Rovers head to Charlton on Saturday.
“We have to take the positives out of our second-half performance and take that into next week,” said the 23-year-old. “We have to start the game how we started the second half (at Coventry), we have to be on the front foot and really take the game to Charlton.
“The gaffer said to us at the break to go out in the second half to win the game and that put a lot of belief in the lads. We came out and performed a lot more like we had done in the past.”
He added: “We pressed more as a team, and the tempo was a lot faster.”
Wright’s emphatic strike proved to be a mere consolation in the end but nevertheless he was happy for a rare appearance on the scoresheet.
“I’m happy to get a goal obviously,” he added.
“But at the end of the day when you don’t get anything from the game it means very little.
“We thought we could still get something out of it right until the very end, but it just wasn’t to be for us.
Sheffield United’s trip to Rotherham United later this month is sold out.
The Blades make the short journey to the AESSEAL New York Stadium on Saturday, November 24 (12.30pm). SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY youngster Matt Penney has been rewarded for his impressive form this season with a new Owls contract.
The 20-year-old Academy graduate has impressed since making his debut as a substitute in this season’s Carabao Cup triumph at Sunderland.
He impressed as a left-back – earning the Owls player of the month award for September –before being pushed further forward by manager Jos Luhukay.
And Penney – whose contract was due to expire next summer – has now signed a one-year contract extension, to stay at Hillsborough until 2020.
“It has been a great experience for me (playing first-team football),” said Penney, who has previously been loaned out to Mansfield Town and Bradford City. “It was the next step I needed in my career and thankfully the gaffer has given me a chance.
“He has put his faith in me and hopefully I’m repaying him now.”
Penney has made nine starts and four substitute appearances this season, and will be hoping for a recall this weekend when the Owls entertain Norwich City. Canaries striker Jordan Rhodes – on a season-long loan from Wednesday –is unable to play, due to the terms of the deal.
Pressure is mounting on Dutchman Luhukay to halt the Owls’ slide down the table, after three sucessive defeats.
Luhukay said: “They players have shown in the past they can do it. They have to show more than what they are doing at the minute. You saw against Birmingham that they tried to come back right to the end.
“They worked hard and were fighting but in the end we must have a little bit of luck and take our chances. But I believe in my team. We are not happy in this period but we must try even harder to work with each other to find a way to return to a positive direction.”