Uwe Rosler insists United are "taking the cup seriously" as they prepare for Thursday’s Capital One Cup first-round tie away to Doncaster Rovers.

The head coach has hinted at making changes to his “very tight squad” for the Yorkshire derby in a bid to maintain the “energy and momentum” heading into a hectic period of away fixtures, including visits to Reading and Bristol City over the next week.

But, with local bragging rights at stake at the Keepmoat Stadium, Rosler is well aware of the importance of this fixture and progressing through to the next stages of the competition.

“We have one or two knocks but the players are fresh mentally, ready and looking forward to the Yorkshire derby,” said Rosler.

“We are taking the cup seriously, we want to get further. We are aware it is a Yorkshire derby and we’ve made sure every player understands what that means for our supporters and for ourselves.

“We have a very tight squad which – in my opinion – can be an advantage going into the season because it makes everybody be tight. It makes everybody feel like they have a chance when they are training well.”

Other than confirming that recent signing Stuart Dallas will keep his place in the starting line-up for Thursday’s tie, Rosler gave little away about his team selection but admitted that he will need to rotate things at some stage.

“To keep up the energy and the momentum, I will make changes along the way,” he said.

“Especially with us having a match programme of four games in 10 days, with three away games and a lot of travelling.

“I only speak about challenges and for us it’s a challenge, we have to live with that sort of schedule that is put in front of us with the travelling.

“The fact is that we have three away games and, especially for Reading and Bristol City, we’ll have to travel for big distances.

“The good thing is we have a young squad and we have the ability to recover quick. Then we’ll take it game by game.”