Grant McCann: Doncaster Rovers manager says he is back to repay club's faith

Grant McCann led Doncaster to a sixth-placed finish in League One and the FA Cup fifth round in his previous spell in charge in 2018-19

Doncaster manager Grant McCann has said he turned down offers from teams higher up the pyramid to return to the club.

The Northern Irishman was reappointed as Rovers boss last week, four years after leaving to take over at Hull.

"This club shouldn't be at this level but it is and our job is to get us out of it," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I've chosen this football club over others, even ones in a higher division, and I've come back to repay some of the club's faith in me."

He added: "We've been offered various different opportunities elsewhere but I thought it was important to wait for the right one.

"I'm delighted to be here and I'm going to try and build a team that the fans are proud of."

McCann had been out of work since being sacked by Peterborough in January and has come back to the South Yorkshire club after a turbulent two seasons.

They were relegated to League Two under Gary McSheffrey in 2021-22 and he was relieved of his duties in October after a mixed start to the season and replaced with former Huddersfield boss Danny Schofield.

However, a run of just two wins from their final 16 matches resulted in an 18th-placed finish for Rovers and Schofield was sacked the day after the final game of the regular season.

McCann, who won the League One title during his time with Hull City, has said the club's ability to recruit well should stand them in good stead to push for promotion in the 2023-24 season.

"The fact that we can recruit to what we think is necessary for this division has given us a clear vision of what we want to do and that is get out of this division," he said.

"Recruitment is the most important thing at any football club and we have to make sure we get the right players and right characters in. We need people who want to win and who can be accountable.

"We'd like our team to be able to play football but we've got to be able to mix it too. Teams who have had success in this league have been able to do different things in games.

"There's going to be a lot of teams who fancy their chances in this league next season and we are one of them."

He added: "We're hoping to move quickly on players. I've mentioned to some of them that there won't be offers that are just going to sit on the table for a few weeks until they get something better. We want a yes or a no.

"I'll have the final say on who comes in. It's important that I'm the man standing on the touchline so I want to take responsibility for the signings."