Grant McCann has had to put football in perspective this season. The Doncaster Rovers manager recently revealed he was diagnosed with skin cancer last year and, while he says he has now recovered, it is the kind of news that reframes what happens on a football pitch. When Saturday comes around and Rovers travel to Peterborough United (15:00), however, the table will demand his full attention.

A familiar ground, an unfamiliar position

Doncaster sit bottom of League One after six matches, with three draws and three defeats and not a single win to show for their efforts. It is a position that few predicted for a side McCann has been steadily building, and the pressure that comes with that record is real even if the manager is keen to keep a level head.

Peterborough is a ground McCann knows intimately. He spent time there both as a player and as a manager, and that familiarity with the surroundings, the routines and the atmosphere could work in his favour. Or, as is the nature of returning to somewhere so familiar, it could sharpen the scrutiny considerably.

"I'm not putting any extra pressure on myself," McCann was reported as saying ahead of the fixture, a line that speaks to someone who has learned to separate the noise from the task in front of him.

Peterborough close behind

What makes this more than a visit down memory lane is the state of the League One table around both clubs. Peterborough are only two points ahead of Doncaster, sitting just outside the bottom four themselves. Neither side can afford to view this as anything other than a match with real third-tier consequence.

Points-per-game is a useful way to measure early-season form: take the total points a side has won and divide by matches played. Doncaster's current return of three points from six games gives them 0.5 per match, a figure that would extrapolate to a deeply uncomfortable final tally if it continues. Peterborough's five points from seven games is modest improvement, but not the kind of form that makes a relegation battle feel distant.

For Rovers, then, this is precisely the sort of fixture the table says they need to win. An opponent in similar difficulty, a ground where the home side cannot afford complacency, and a manager who understands every corner of the stadium he is walking into.

Can a familiar setting unlock something?

McCann's record at Peterborough as a manager was notable enough to give him a strong connection with the club's supporters. Whether that history helps or hinders on Saturday is one of the more intriguing subplots of the League One weekend.

What Doncaster need above all is a first win of the season. Three draws suggest this is not a side without qualities; they have shown enough to avoid defeat on several occasions. The issue, as McCann himself has acknowledged in recent weeks, is converting those moments of promise into goals and results. Rovers have been here before in terms of slow starts, and the third tier is long enough for a side to recover, but the time for patience is already thinning.

A win at Peterborough would not just lift Rovers off the bottom. It would signal that this group, and their manager, have the character to turn a difficult opening into something far more hopeful before the autumn is out.

Frequently asked

Why are Doncaster Rovers bottom of League One?
Doncaster have taken just three points from their opening six League One matches, winning none and losing three, which leaves them rooted to the foot of the table at this early stage of the season.
What is Grant McCann's connection to Peterborough United?
McCann has history with Peterborough both as a player and as a manager, making Saturday's away trip a particularly personal occasion on top of its league importance for Rovers.
When do Doncaster Rovers play Peterborough United?
Doncaster travel to Peterborough on Saturday at 15:00 BST in a League One fixture with significance for both sides near the lower end of the third-tier table.