Darrell Clarke and his staff are working around the clock to stop Bristol Rovers' disappointing run of form and earn a first Sky Bet League Two win of the season since September.
The Pirates have lost their last six fixtures in the fourth tier, falling to a 3-1 defeat away to Accrington Stanley last weekend. Kamil Conteh's second goal in as many games after the break levelled the score for the Pirates and gave them all of the momentum, but efforts from Farred Rawson and Isaac Sinclair gave the hosts all three points.
The Gas now face a Cheltenham Town side they have already beaten at the EV Charger Points Stadium this season. Luke Thomas scored the only goal in a Vertu Trophy victory, with Rovers looking to return to winning ways against the Robins.
Speaking to the media before the game, Clarke previewed the clash against Cheltenham and the work done to turn Rovers' form around.
PUTTING IN THE WORK
“Communication is always the key. The supporters know that I will always take accountability. We’re on a run of results which are simply not acceptable, and we’re working around the clock, my staff and I, to turn that around both on the grass and in the mindset. So, I can only apologise for the run that we are on. I knew the job was going to be tough before I came in, and it’s been a lot harder than I thought it would be.
“So, we’re working away to make things a lot better. There is a lot of negativity around the place at the minute and that’s understandable, but that’s on me. Football clubs are always a happier place when they are winning on a Saturday. We’re not doing that, nowhere near consistently enough, and we’re on a bad run. It’s up to me to get that sorted.
“I’m certainly not going to back away from that, and it starts at three o’clock at Cheltenham on Saturday. I know people are probably sick of hearing that, but we’ve just got to keep working away. It’s tough times, but you either shirk away from that issue or you face it head-on. So, I’m looking forward to hopefully a reaction on Saturday.”
LOOKING FOR A REACTION
“I care passionately. I’m finding it hard to show my face around the city at the minute because I’m embarrassed with how we are performing. You recover and reboot for a couple of days after Saturday, and then people know me well enough to know that I will come out fighting and throwing.
“That’s all I can ask of people and my players to make sure we get that resilience, we get that togetherness, and we get that in our performance on a much more consistent level. It’s been tough, but nobody feels sorry for us. It’s up to us and me to get us out of this rut and to put some positivity back into the club.”
THE GASHEADS
“Our supporters have been fantastic. They know how much I care, they know how much I love our fans, and they will be there in numbers tomorrow at Cheltenham. We need to put on a performance that they can get behind and cheer, just like we have a few times this season, but nowhere near enough.”
CHELTENHAM TOWN PREVIEW
“Let’s go and enjoy it. It’s a derby game, they are just up the road, we’ve sold out our away end, and our fans will be there. All I can ask from the fans is to give the players a chance and a platform to try and perform and to try and get the three points, and they will do that.
“I’ve managed a lot of games at this football club, and one thing that is for sure is that they will turn up. We need to turn up; we need to put in a fully committed performance and have that bit of quality at the right times to make sure we get back to winning ways.
“Steve is experienced. He knows that club well. It’s a club that I've managed, and it’s a great little club, and Steve knows everything about that. So, he’s got a bit of a tune out of the players but no disrespect to them, our focus always has to be on us because we should be doing a hell of a lot better than we are with the group that I’ve got and we’ve just got to make sure that the performance is what it needs to be on Saturday to try and get a win.”
