00:00Two defeats in a row for Bristol Rovers was not the start that Daryl Clark or anyone at the club was hoping for.
00:08A brace from Fleetwood Town's Will Davis in the first half effectively put the game beyond Bristol Rovers at half-time,
00:17although they did manage to get themselves within a decent chance of getting a point.
00:22With 74 minutes on the clock when promised Amotere was brought down in the area, with Amotere himself then converting the subsequent penalty.
00:32But following that, it was not to be for Bristol Rovers as they were unable to fashion another clear opening that would have seen them gain a draw away from home.
00:43It's been a frustrating start to the season for Daryl Clark and his side.
00:47After what was a promising summer, in which Clark himself talked up the chances and the expectations of the club going into the season in League 2,
00:57following their relegation from League 1 last year under Inigo Calderon.
01:02And yet, Clark has been disappointed with what he has seen on the pitch so far at the start of this campaign.
01:09Certainly, he's pulled no punches in what he has said in his post-match reactions so far.
01:15But he knows that Bristol Rovers are capable of more, hence why he has been frustrated.
01:22Of course, it is still a long season ahead, 44 games still remaining to be played for Bristol Rovers in League 2.
01:30But they would have wanted to set the tone early on and they have been unable to do that.
01:35Let's hear now from Daryl Clark, who reacted after the game.
01:39Frustrating afternoon, just first 20 minutes.
01:42We start OK, then we give two of the softest goals away ever.
01:45First one looks a yard and off, offside.
01:47Then we're chasing the game.
01:48Second half, we have a response, a few changes.
01:51But, yeah, just, I don't know, a little bit of softness, a little bit of mentality thing still in the group that we've got to try and stamp out.
02:00Yeah, those two goals are so close to each other.
02:02That must have given you a real mountain to fly.
02:03Well, shocking goals. I mean, the first one looks a yard off.
02:06The second one, shocking defending.
02:09So, yeah, when you're doing that, you're chasing a game.
02:12Second half, there was a response.
02:14But then we score the goal and come off what we were doing well to open them up on numerous occasions.
02:19Missed a lot of chances.
02:20So, it's a rude awakening call for the group and ourselves, if I'm honest with you.
02:27But I'm used to coming into teams that haven't had that rhythm, haven't had that connection, haven't had that mentality.
02:33And we'll get there where we need to be.
02:36Yeah, looking at the positives, the second half was certainly an improvement compared to the first.
02:40Yeah, listen, for those 20 minutes, we have a chance.
02:42Promis has had a header.
02:42We have a couple of half chances.
02:44Fabrizio has half a chance.
02:46Then they score a goal with probably the first, well, it's not even an attack.
02:50It's just poor defending from our perspective.
02:52And then the quick one after that kills us a little bit.
02:55Yeah, so long season, two games in.
02:57Is this part of the season where those mistakes need to get cut out?
03:00Yeah, or they'll be out the team.
03:03You know, it's an area of the pitch we need to strengthen massively.
03:06You know, we need two more defenders coming into the building, that is for sure.
03:09Two more centre midfielders as well.
03:11We need, you know, we're still looking and working hard to strengthen those positions.
03:13And when that happens, and I get the mentality of this group right, which will come, we'll start becoming more of a team.
03:18Because at the minute, we're a little bit bitty.
03:20We're a little bit lacking a little bit of mentality, lacking a little bit of confidence.
03:25One or two that have been here now for a period of time, not getting the rhythm at the minute, but he'll come.
03:30You mentioned Promis before the game.
03:32Today, he gets a goal.
03:32That must help improve his confidence.
03:34It's going to get stronger and stronger with minutes, Promis.
03:36He's trying to keep him consistently on the pitch so that he's not breaking down with injuries.
03:40So we're having to manage that a little bit.
03:42Ellis has obviously missed the whole pre-season as well, but he's coming in and getting more minutes.
03:45And we've just got to build players up as we go along.
03:48It's where we're at.
03:49It's only a matter of days until the Carabao Cup fixture against Cambridge.
03:52That must be a real chance to boost momentum and really start the season.
03:55Yeah, we'll get on to Tuesday, yeah, quickly.
03:57Bristol Rovers begin their Carabao Cup campaign on Tuesday evening with a home tie against Cambridge United at the Memorial Stadium.
04:07Then it's back to League Two action on Saturday with a lunchtime kick-off against Chesterfield.
04:13Of course, playing Cambridge United, Daryl Clark will probably make changes to his starting XI,
04:20but he will hope that, nonetheless, it could act as a confidence booster if they were able to make it through to the next round of the competition.
04:29Ahead of their game against Chesterfield, in which Clark will know that three points, or at least a draw,
04:35are something of a must to make sure that confidence is building as the season gets fully underway.
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