Chris Martin has challenged his Bristol Rovers to show a reaction against Peterborough United after the Gas lost 2-0 to Charlton Athletic in Sky Bet League One.
Rovers fell to their second consecutive 2-0 away defeat in the third tier after losing to Wigan Athletic on the weekend. Iñigo Calderón made six changes to add fresh legs to his side that lost to the Latics only three days prior, but the Pirates conceded twice in the first half after goals from Matty Godden and Josh Edwards.
Back-to-back defeats in League One have been especially frustrating to Rovers, who had seemed to turn a corner under new head coach Calderón after triumphs over Cambridge United and Barnsley.
Martin was unhappy with the defeat and stated that his side must react better to going behind, with Rovers' only victory after trailing this season coming against Burton Albion in October, where they collected a 3-1 win on their travels.
“It was a disappointing night,” he said. “I felt like in the first ten minutes, we started OK and quite positively. Then, we didn’t react very well to the disappointment of the goal. I don’t think we were hard enough to beat in those moments, especially from that goal probably until the half-time whistle. Obviously, resulting in us being 2-0 down. It needs to be much better.
“It’s probably been a theme throughout the season. We have to find a way to put that right. I will try not to use too many cliches, but it’s about us being together as a group and being able to respond to that. I don’t think we did it anywhere near well enough tonight, and that’s what we’ve spoken about in there.
“It’s going to be a tough time. We’re not in a great moment. We’re not in a good situation, looking at the table. So, I think we need to make sure that we’re under no illusions about how difficult the task is going to be from now on. Let’s not look too far ahead. Obviously, we have got a big game coming up on Sunday, and I think the message from me and, of course, the rest of the lads and also the manager is that we need to work. We’ve got work to do. It’s not a time for sulking. It’s not a time for pointing fingers.
“Hopefully, everyone, myself included, will be going home tonight and thinking about what they can do better, how they can help the group more, what we can do for each other and for the team. But honestly, the words are obviously cheap. We have to show that with our actions and our commitment on the pitch.”
Back-to-back wins followed by back-to-back defeats reflect a season of inconsistencies so far for the Gas, often displaying plenty of signs of potential improvements without being able to string positive results together over an extended period to pull away from other teams towards the bottom of the table.
Just four points above the relegation zone, Martin confessed that his side are where they are because of their mixed results and has called on his fellow players to look at how they can improve to help the team.
“That’s why we’re in the situation we’re in,” said the striker. “We haven’t had that. If we knew the answer to that then we obviously wouldn’t be in this situation, and we would probably be very rich from it. So, it’s trying to work that out. We’ll be doing a lot of work, and we’re in tomorrow, so we’ll be analysing what happened tonight and just trying to see where we can improve. That’s the message from when the manager first came in to now. Continually look for areas of improvement.
“So, everyone needs to look at themselves in the mirror and see if there’s more that they can do and if they are doing enough as a group. If we bring that together, I think that will make the group stronger.”
Rovers are back in action on Sunday when they welcome Peterborough United to The Memorial Stadium. It’s a massive match for both teams, with Rovers only one place and two points below the Posh, who ended an eight-game winless run with a victory over Wigan on Tuesday.
Rovers enjoyed a positive home result last time out, collecting a 3-1 victory against playoff hopefuls Barnsley. Martin is hoping his side can repeat their previous success and wants his side to show a reaction.
“That would be very nice,” Martin insisted. “Obviously, we would snap your hand off for that right now, but it’s going to be a tough game. It’s big in the context of where the clubs are in the table. For sure, I would much rather be playing that game at home in front of the fans at The Mem. We’re hoping that we can use that to our advantage, but there’s a lot of work to do between now and to get ourselves ready. Let’s go and show a reaction and some fight in that game. Hopefully, we can come away with a positive result.”
