Midfielder has become a Rovers legend since joining in 2004 and recently equalised aged 40 in a kit he designed
It is the kind of script even Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorsese might deem a touch far-fetched. Picture the scene: into the 102nd minute, James Coppinger, on as a substitute and for his first appearance aged 40, wearing a kit he designed with his sons to mark almost two decades of service to Doncaster Rovers – as well as gold boots decorated with his initials and number – dispatches a free-kick into the top corner to earn a 3-3 draw. As the Yorkshire Post put it, all that was missing was the red Superman cape.
There were tears after that equaliser 10 days ago and last weekend marked another milestone: Coppinger’s 800th career appearance. But in the summer, after 17 seasons at Rovers, he is set to retire, even if a teeny part of him is wrestling with the idea. “If we got promoted to the Championship it would be so difficult to walk away but right now … there’s no doubt in my mind that at the end of the season that will be it,” Coppinger says. “I try not to think about it and go down that road. Little things bring it on: ‘Last this, last that.’”