Jamie Lindsay insisted that his Bristol Rovers team aims to bounce back from their disappointing 3-0 loss to Leyton Orient ahead of the Gas’ home match against Bolton Wanderers in Sky Bet League One.
Rovers were looking to build on their penalty victory away to Barnsley in the second round of the Emirates FA Cup but struggled to gain a foothold in the contest and conceded three first-half goals at Gaughan Group Stadium.
Dan Happe, Ollie O'Neil and Dan Agyei all scored for the O's against a much-changed Rovers side, with the Pirates quickly turning their attention to their first game at The Memorial Stadium since losing 2-0 to Blackpool.
Lindsay stated that his side does not want to have a repeat of their disappointment on Tuesday, and it is up to them to make sure it does not happen again.
“It was really tough,” said the midfielder. “It was something that me personally and the players don’t want to feel again, especially after winning on Saturday and having the feeling of going through. It’s our job, obviously, to never feel like that again.
Rovers have had several impressive results recently and started November with a four-game unbeaten run in all competitions. The last two Saturdays have been triumphant, beating Mansfield Town away in League One before beating Barnsley in the Emirates FA Cup. However, both fixtures came before Tuesday frustrations.
The success over the Stags was followed by a loss to Blackpool, their first home defeat in the third tier since September, with the triumph over the Tykes coming before the defeat to Orient.
Lindsay said that his side is aiming to find more consistency after mixed results.
“There’s been times in the league this season when we’ve done well and won a couple of games,” he said. “Then, there’s always been that chance after winning a couple where it’s like ‘if we win this, we’re looking good here,’ and we’ve always fallen short of that game so far.
“That’s obviously disappointing. In the Mansfield game, we got three points and had a massive chance on Tuesday to kick on, and in the Blackpool game, we didn't.
“We feel like at the minute it has been forward and back, there’s been no real proper consistency. So, that’s what we need to bring.”
Matt Taylor’s men have a difficult run of fixtures before Christmas Day and face three of the top seven teams in the third tier. After hosting Bolton, the Gas travel to title favourites Birmingham City before welcoming Wrexham, who are searching for their third successive promotion.
Despite the upcoming string of fixtures, Lindsay is only focused on the next game against the Trotters and stated that the team owes everyone a performance after the midweek result against the O’s.
“I don’t think we’ve even thought about Birmingham or Wrexham,” said Lindsay. “We need to take it day by day and step by step. The first game is Bolton. I know that sounds cliche, but we’re not in a position where we can look two or three games ahead.
“We need to turn up on Saturday, and we owe ourselves, the staff, the fans, and everybody a performance where we can look at it and think that’s where we should be.
“There’s been a lot of games in the last two or three weeks, and I think that’s the good thing when you’ve got a game on Tuesday and Saturday. When it goes badly on Tuesday, there’s not so long to wait until Saturday when you can hopefully put it right.”
