SO the fixtures are out, and the realisation has started to set in for some Rovers fans that it will be Southend and not Sunderland, Portsmouth not Preston, and Doncaster not Derby.

But it is a fate that must be accepted and a challenge met head on, as Rovers seek to make it a short stay in the third tier.

First up is Southend, a long trip, but not the longest, with the 257 mile journey coming in at number four behind Plymouth (306), Portsmouth (268) and Gillingham (266), but more on that later.

Southend narrowly missed out on the League One play-offs last season, but that was built on a turnaround in fortunes in the second half of the campaign.  Phil Brown’s side won just one of their opening six games, and lost three of their first four games at Roots Hall.

Tony Mowbray and his side will be hoping to take advantage should there be another slow start by the Essex club.

Rovers will likely get an early test of their promotion credentials however, as their opening seven league fixtures see them face all three of the sides beaten in the play-offs last season (Bradford away, Fleetwood at home, and Scunthorpe away) as well as Southend who finished just one point behind the top six.

Also included in that run is a trip to Rochdale who finished ninth last term, and MK Dons who came in just inside the top half.

The odd one out in that sequence is a home game with newly-promoted Doncaster who looked all set to lift the League Two title before losing their last four games.

It could be a busy opening month for Rovers, as progression in the Carabao Cup tie at Coventry City on August 8 would see a second round tie scheduled for the week commencing August 21.

And with the Checkatrade Trophy - a first-team commitment for Rovers next season - scheduled to start the following week, it could be seven games in 24 days for Mowbray’s men.

Back to those long trips.  It probably won’t have gone unnoticed among the Rovers fans that they face the prospect of trips to Plymouth and Portsmouth in the space of 10 days at the start of February, with the game at Fratton Park falling on a Tuesday night. 

The Gillingham trip has landed in March, while AFC Wimbledon, the other lengthy journey is their first of 2018 on January 6 (unless either side makes it in to round three of the FA Cup).

The Christmas period has been quite kind to Rovers. They will host Rochdale on Boxing Day, and Scunthorpe United four days later, before a trip to Rotherham United on New Year’s Day. 

This will be another busy period for Rovers, who play four games in the space of nine days around the festive period, with a trip to Northampton Town set for December 23.

And Rovers will certainly be hoping there’s something to celebrate on the final day, a home clash with Oxford United on Saturday, May 5, which will kick off at 5.30pm.

The season is drawing nearer – just 45 days to go.