Darrell Clarke was left disappointed with Bristol Rovers' second-half performance in the Gas' 2-1 defeat to Walsall in Sky Bet League Two.
Rovers came into the contest unbeaten in seven outings in all competitions and were by far the better side in the first half, going into the break with a narrow lead thanks to Fabrizio Cavegn's clinical finish.
However, the hosts could not add to their bright performance, with the Saddlers gaining control and showing why they lead the table in the fourth tier. Aaron Pressley scored twice for the hosts to turn the score around, with Rovers unable to find a way back into the contest.
Reflecting honestly on the match to BRTV, Clarke admitted his team gave Walsall the points and wants his side to be much better across 90 minutes.
Darrell, a defeat here today at Walsall, how do you reflect on that one?
“Not a good enough second half. We can’t go from the first half, complete control, to that second half performance. They scored two goals out of absolutely nothing.
“From my perspective, we’ve got to be miles better in the second half, and then we make the changes to do what we should have been doing in the first half and then start kicking it long. So, listen, we're architects of our own downfall today.”
Is that the main frustration there? You showed how good you can be in the first half, but in the second half, it wasn’t there.
“Yeah, but we don’t look like a 90-minute team at the moment. I said that at half-time. I want a ninety-minute team, and we haven’t put enough ninety-minute performances in at the minute, for me. That showed in the second half.
“A really disappointing goal to give away. Yes, we’re always going to have to ride a bit of a storm. Yes, Walsall were lucky, so they had a much better second half, but I think we handed them the points if I’m being honest. By lack of control.”
That second half you mentioned, what was the main difference, and why was that?
“Cojones. Listen, get our build going like we did in the first half. Yeah, they put a little bit more pressure on us, but still, get control.
“We can still look to build the way we build, because we were in control in the first half. Then, the second half, it was like Jekyll and Hyde. It won’t be accepted.
“Listen, I’m quite an honest manager, I don’t care that we’re unbeaten in eight or nine before today.
“It’s not a good enough second-half performance for us, and we have to learn, and we have to learn quickly.”
Especially with those 2,000 Gasheads today, they were with you all the way. Does that make it more disappointing?
“They’re with us all the way, yes. We are disappointed, and the fans were magnificent again today. I’m disappointed in my second-half performance as a team.
“Then, when we were chasing the game, looking to freshen things up, totally the wrong decisions when we got the ball. So, listen, so much work to do with the group and we’ve got to get working at it.”
After that positive spell of results, does it show that there is a lot of work to do for the team?
“I said that nine or ten games ago. I’ve said it all along. We’re nowhere near the finished goal. Seeing what the league’s about, it’s nothing special if I’m honest with you. It’s competitive, but we’ve got to be seeing [out] games.
“When you’ve got that complete control that we had in the first half, for large spells of it, we have to be putting it into another 30/45 minutes. In the second half, we didn’t do that.”
Win, lose or draw, do you prefer the same way in that game? Like you’ve always mentioned before?
“Listen, you’re not always going to get 90-minute performances. It never happens in pro football now. Teams will always have their spell.
“We didn’t handle that spell that they had at the beginning of the second half; we never got out of it. Started doing what we shouldn’t have been doing on our build. We basically lost control.”
