Following a difficult couple of weeks for Bristol Rovers and Darrell Clarke, the Pirates' Head Coach is ready to put the past behind him and watch his team respond in their Sky Bet League Two fixture against Crawley Town.
The Gas have lost their last three fixtures in Sky Bet League Two, losing 2-1 away to Walsall before back-to-back defeats at The Memorial Stadium to Milton Keynes Dons and Tranmere Rovers.
The Pirates will travel to Broadfield Stadium to face Crawley, with Scott Lindsey’s side also seeking a positive result, having most recently suffered a loss against Shrewsbury Town last Saturday.
Speaking to the media, Clarke reflected on last week’s result and shared his ambitions for the Gas ahead of their Crawley clash.
REFLECTING ON LAST WEEK’S LOSS
“They’re under no illusions of the last performance, you know, I took accountability for the last MK Dons performance. The last performance was nowhere near acceptable. With those come consequences, consequences that the players have seen this week and then they’ll have an understanding that those performances don’t happen very often.
“I’ve dealt with it the way I have dealt with various situations in the past. The non-negotiables are not hit, which they weren't hit with abundance on Saturday; there then become consequences of how their week looks. Taking some comforts out of them, making sure that there are triple sessions, working hard to make sure that we understand that there are no grey areas on that.
“I've won loads of games as a manager and I've lost loads of games as a manager, and double promotions, I’ve experienced all of the highs and lows of football that I can. But I also have a non-negotiable hit list, and we were miles off that on Saturday. So, we’ve worked hard and we’re ready to respond on Saturday.”
THE SQUAD
“Listen, I won’t beat around the bush, for ten to twelve weeks of the competitive season, it’s been very bitty. It’s been very bitty for various reasons; we’ve not been able to get any sort of consistent flow on team selection, team formation, and injuries there.
“So, to think we’ve got that, and when something else breaks down, there’s been so many moving parts to this last 12 weeks. So, it will be a little bit like that. And it will be like that moving forward.
“But eventually it will settle down, everything will settle itself down when we get one or two returning. Lads catching up with it and their match minutes, their competitive minutes, and I have no doubt about it, we will be in a lot better place in the coming weeks, making sure that we have more consistency about what we do and more consistency in our performance.”
TOM LOCKYER
“We are really pleased that he’s coming back home, he’s coming to play. He’s still at a good age as well. He’s really hungry and really ambitious to prove something. I think he wants to prove to himself and prove to everybody else that he’s back and he’s ready to go.
“He’s ready to go, no doubt about that. I've seen him in the last two weeks, bearing in mind that he’s played minutes at Luton as well in games behind closed doors. So, he’s in good condition and he’s ready to go.”
“He’s a born leader. He’s always been a very bright lad, from managing him and then turning him into my captain when he was a young lad. He’s always been very, very intelligent and very aware of things. He hasn’t changed a bit, to be honest with you. He’s just grown into more of a leader, and he’ll take everything into his stride on Saturday.
"I’m sure it will be a special occasion for him and his family and for the Football Club. So, I can guarantee to you now that if he is selected on Saturday, his focus will be on winning the game because that’s what he does. We’re probably cut from the same cloth in a lot of aspects.”
To read the full quotes from Clarke on Lockyer, click here!
