Jon Dahl Tomasson insists John Buckley still has a future at Rovers – and says the midfielder knows what he must do to get back in the team.

Buckley was absent from the squad for the 1-0 victory at Watford over the weekend and has made just one league appearance since the start of the campaign, coming off the bench for the final minutes at Rotherham.

The 23-year-old started the 4-3 win against Walsall earlier this month and managed to get on the scoresheet during the second half.

“He has been unlucky,” said Tomasson. “When he was in the team, he got the red card against Middlesbrough. Then he was in the team again and got injured for four months.

“At the end of the day, it is about doing all the right things in training and in the games.

“He will have plenty of opportunities to train and play in games because I arrange games every week so every player is up to speed.

“It is also sometimes about the balance on the bench. John knows exactly what I want from him and it is just about doing it.

“I am not trying to get John out of the building, not at all. We need John as well.”

Friday night’s transfer deadline is getting closer, and Tomasson admits there are still areas of the squad where Rovers are light in numbers.

“I have spoken about this period a lot already and, of course, time is ticking. It is still unclear,” he continued. “I can only say that hopefully the club manage to get players in to help the team.

“But I would rather talk about the players we have, they are great players. The performance against Watford was excellent, they were so resilient and disciplined. Getting a result there, they are brilliant boys. I will work with the players the club are giving me.

“If you look at the team, we can all can agree that we need a couple more players in some of the positions.

“You can see that if you go through each position and the numbers in a tough and competitive league.”

Harrogate enter the tie on the back of a 2-0 victory against 10-man Morecambe thanks to goals from Luke Armstrong and George Thomson.

Simon Weaver’s side find themselves 17th in the League Two table at this early stage, having picked up six points from their opening five matches.

Tomasson is expecting another tough test but hopes his side can deal with the hosts’ threats.

“They changed three or four players at the weekend and got a result after losing a couple of games,” he stated.

“They are good at passing the ball long and trying to win those balls. In transition, they have speed and also set-plays, they are qualities of the team.”