DONNY TIMING DEFIES LOGIC...

PAUL DICKOV was clearly struggling at Doncaster. Six points from six games, barracked by the fans, pilloried for negative tactics.

Watching the footage from Donny’s dismal defeat at Gillingham – as angry fans queued up to yell abuse – it was hard to see a rosy future.

So it has proved. The Scot was sacked on Tuesday, 18 months after overseeing relegation from the Championship.

Fan reaction has been ambivalent; near universal delight at the dismissal of a manager few trusted to bring promotion tempered by sadness at the demise of a likeable character.

With gates starting to dwindle, it was a pragmatic decision.

Whether it was the correct one remains to be seen – but, personally, I struggle to see the logic in firing a manager just after the transfer window has closed.

Doncaster signed six players this summer, plus another two on loan. All but a handful of the squad ar e Dickov’s men. Now, whoever comes in is going to be saddled with a group of players he neither signed nor particularly wants.

Having backed Dickov, why not give him until November?

At least that way Doncaster’s directors would know for sure whether the team has been simply slow to gel or the curr ent problems are more deep-seated.

If they are, no sweat – there’s still time to r escue the situation.

If they aren’t, you’re a patient visionary who just saved the club a hatful of compo and an expensive squad overhaul.