Doncaster Rovers manager relishing prospect of 'mini Championship (involving) Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic'
Doncaster Rovers chief Grant McCann says he can't wait to get stuck into 'Bolton and Wigan' in the 'mini Championship' that is League One.
The South Yorkshire outfit secured promotion to the third tier as champions of League Two, and McCann is already rubbing his hands at the prospect of receiving next season's fixture list - which contains several former Premier League clubs.
"There’s some really good local games which will fill stadiums, home and away and it’s where we want to be," McCann told the Yorkshire Post. "We ultimately want to end up in the Championship, but League One is like a mini Championship with big, huge clubs in it.
"You see with the clubs coming down...Cardiff are a massive football club, there’s the Plymouths, Huddersfields and Barnsleys, and also Bolton and Wigan. It will be good competing against these clubs and let’s see how we do."
McCann is also not getting carried away with two of last season’s League Two promotion winners having finished in the top three in League One this term.
“I expected them to go again really, given the backing they have and stuff,” added McCann. "The managers did brilliant, but they had a real high backing.
"With the other teams (who won promotion), Mansfield did well to stay up and Crawley lost their manager and then brought him back, and that has probably not helped them.
"We have to make sure we are not just going to float about this league and maybe just stay up or float about the mid-regions of League One.
"I have been in League One for five seasons or something as a manager. In the first season, I finished 10th and had a play-off defeat with Doncaster, and lost my job twice when I was eighth and I have won the league, also.
"So I actually know League One better than League Two. So I probably go into this with a bit more knowledge and know what it takes to be in and around the mix and that’s what we will try and do."
McCann will be hoping for a better experience at the Brick Community Stadium next season than his visit with Hull City in July 2020 – which ended in an 8-0 defeat.