00:00The countdown is on with just days remaining
00:05before Bristol Rovers kick off their League Two campaign
00:08at home to Harrogate Town.
00:10Daryl Clark's side have one final friendly
00:12to fine-tune their preparations.
00:15Pre-season has flown by, but the purpose is clear,
00:18building fitness and sharpness to form,
00:20ideally against tougher opposition later in the schedule.
00:24That's why two championship opponents were lined up
00:26to close the warm-up matches.
00:29With Coventry City on Wednesday.
00:33The 2-0 defeat was hardly unexpected.
00:37Coventry dominated the ball while Rovers had to rely on shape,
00:40focus and defensive grit.
00:42For over an hour, they did just that with Luke Southward
00:45made several good saves and defender Connor Taylor,
00:48Alfie Kilgore and Taylor Moore held firm.
00:52A known goal from Macaulay Southam Hales
00:54and a tidy finish from Kane Kelser Hayden
00:57eventually undid the resistance.
00:59But there were still positives.
01:03Yet questions persist.
01:05The biggest among them is the need for firepower.
01:08Rovers are short up front with Promise Amache
01:10and Rul Soutoury requiring careful fitness management.
01:15Amache in particular is still building back from injury.
01:18And while Soutour completed 90 minutes against Coventry,
01:22neither striker is at full sharpness.
01:24A third senior form was that is needed with 17-year-old Oli Dewsbury,
01:28the only other recognised option.
01:30But Clark also emphasised the importance of building up those
01:33already in the building.
01:34Squad depth is another concern as 17 players departed last season
01:41and only seven arriving with the Gas now having 22 players,
01:45including some try lists.
01:47Still, Clark appears to have settled on the spine of his team.
01:51Southward, Taylor, Kilgore, Conte and Amache-Sourou pairing from the core.
01:56With a few additions and another 90-minute run-out to come,
02:00Rovers are edging closer to readiness.
02:03The opening day will arrive quickly.
02:05Whether it's perfect or not, this group has been built with purpose
02:08and that matters more than pre-season results ever could.
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