Doncaster Rovers midfielder James Coppinger insists the time was right for striker John Marquis to leave the club, ahead of a potential reunion with his former teammate when Donny host Portsmouth at The Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday.
Having joined Doncaster from Millwall in the summer of 2016, helping the club to promotion from League Two in his debut season at The Keepmoat Stadium, going onto score a total of 67 goals in 153 appearances in all competitions during his three years as a Rovers player.
Marquis then left Doncaster during the summer transfer window, joining League One rivals Portsmouth for a fee reported to be worth around £2million, with the striker now set to come up against his old club on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of that clash, it appears Coppinger has no qualms with Marquis' decision to leave the club, as he told the Doncaster Free Press: “John needed to leave.
“I think the time was right, he’d done fantastic for this club. When we signed him in League Two, he was the perfect fit.
“We needed someone like him who would score goals and demand every day.
“For the last two or three seasons he was outstanding. The timing was right, he’s left.”
Discussing the prospect of going up against Marquis this weekend, Coppinger appears to be relishing the challenge, as he added: “It’ll be interesting to pit our wits against him.
“The two centre-halves will be looking forward to it – Tom [Anderson] worked with him all last season.
“We’ll be looking forward to it. Hopefully he won’t score and we'll put in a good performance.”
Since leaving Doncaster for Fratton Park, Marquis has scored two goals in 12 appearances in all competitions for the club, with Kenny Jackett's side currently 19th in League One after eight league games of their season.
Doncaster meanwhile are ninth in the third tier standings, having played nine games of their league campaign so far.
The Verdict
This certainly does look to be one of the weekends more intriguing encounters.
Marquis hasn't quite recreated his form from his time with Doncaster at Portsmouth just yet, so getting on the scoresheet here would be a big relief in more ways than one.
With Pompey boss Kenny Jackett seemingly under mounting pressure however, it seems as though the result could be more important than any individual performances for Marquis' side on Saturday.
Given Doncaster could move into the play-off spots with a win, this feels like a big game for them as well, not just because they will be determined to get one over on one of their former key players on Saturday.
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