Ben Purrington said his Bristol Rovers team will look to take the positives from their 4-1 loss to Wycombe Wanderers in the Jersey Mike's Trophy.
The Chairboys had a three-goal lead at half-time after goals from Malik Mothersille, Emre Tezgel and Cauley Woodrow, before Tezgel got a second towards the end of the fixture after Ellis Harrison got a goal back for the Gas.
It was a disappointing defeat for the Gas, but nine changes meant different players got important minutes. Keenan Gough made his first start since Rovers' win over Newport County after an injury, while Tommy Leigh returned from suspension. Arvin Appiah also came in on the same day as signing, with Philip Sanyaolu handed his first start in the blue-and-white quarters.
Speaking to the media after the game, Purrington reflected on the performance and what his team can take from the contest ahead of a massive match against Barnet.
THOUGHTS AT FULL-TIME
"The first half is very disappointing. To go three-nil down is not acceptable after the away performances recently. I thought we reacted well in the second half; we had a few chances and limited them. The game at three-nil is done; you're just trying to get something out of the game and make it respectable. It's more the manner of it.
"At the end of the day, our season is not going to be defined by this competition. It's good for the squad; it's good for people to get minutes, and we would have been delighted to progress in it for those reasons. It's nice to progress in all of the competitions. It's not going to define our season; we'll concentrate on the league and hopefully get a bounce on Saturday."
BETTER SECOND HALF PERFORMANCE
"It's easily done at three-nil. It's just a mentality thing. Coming out, you've got to react because you can't go under. If you sink in those situations, it becomes five, six or seven. We've all seen it before. We will take the positives we can from it.
"Stan Dunne makes his debut, and it was nice to see him come on. People who haven't played in a while [played]. Obviously, Tommy Leigh was suspended, so it brings the squad back up to full fitness, and that's the positive that we can take."
NINE CHANGES FROM SATURDAY
"You look at the team, and there are people that haven't played together. Those partnerships are going to have to form. Arvin has come in, Phil hasn't played much, and you've got Stan. I played at centre-back; Alfie Kilgour unfortunately gets injured and then you've got Keenan there.
"It was a makeshift team, but there was more than enough quality on the pitch to come here and get more than we did. That's what's probably disappointing for us."
PLAYING AT CENTRE-BACK
"I haven't done it much in a four. I have played on the left of a three a fair amount in my career, but I can do it; I don't mind it. The result hasn't gone very well tonight, but I don't mind doing it. I am a full-back by trade, but I can fill in there."
REFLECTIONS ON THE SEASON SO FAR
"We have had very strong home form, and we've had a lot of positives, but a few negatives on the road. If we can bring a bit of consistency and try to bring those performances away from home as well, I think we'll have a successful season."
BARNET PREVIEW
"It's massive. Hopefully it will be a sell-out. It's a massive game; we've got to try and do all the positives we have done in the previous home games and keep this run going that we have been on. We'll try and extend that run, and if we can do that, we can have a real push and keep that home form going."
