Iñigo Calderón hailed Bristol Rovers' 3-1 victory over Peterborough United as their best performance since he arrived as head coach.
The Gas responded from back-to-back 2-0 away defeats against Wigan Athletic and Charlton Athletic with their second consecutive triumph at The Memorial Stadium to go six points clear of the relegation zone.
James Wilson got onto Matt Butcher’s corner to break the deadlock before Isaac Hutchinson doubled their lead with a clever finish inside the box. Ruel Sotiriou then netted his third goal for the Gas with a right-footed strike before Ricky-Jade Jones grabbed a consolation in stoppage time.
Calderón reflected on the victory and praised their defensive improvements.
I think today was really good...
“It was massive,” he said. “I tried to take a bit of pressure off the players because I said that it’s not going to make any change if we had lost today, we would be in the same situation. Now we have won, we are in the same situation. It’s true that you want to win, and especially I think the way we did today. It was really good because I think we started to show a better version of ourselves with every game.
“I think today was really good. We defended better. When we defend it is not the defenders, it is everyone on the team. I think we pressed higher better; I think we defended our goal better, and after with the ball, we had good spells. I think overall, it was the best performance we played so far.”
Having different scorers is good for the team...
“That was good because, otherwise, when you just rely on one player, it’s going to be a problem,” said the Spaniard. “Having different scorers is good for the team and the way we score goals. That is great for the boys because, for example, we were talking about the set pieces that we didn’t score before, and we were working on it this week a bit more.
“I’m really, really happy with the boys today and the way we played consistently during the 90 minutes. It’s true that the last five, we relaxed a little bit, but I have to understand it’s normal as well.”
I like the way we defended with pride and passion...
“We trained during the week after Charlton,” said Calderón. “We conceded two cheap goals, soft goals, and we were talking and working on that the three days we trained. We defended better, and we cared more about defending our goal. I like the way we defended with pride and passion.
“Sometimes we want to play football, and we forget about the ugly stuff. Not even the ugly stuff, because defending should be something we enjoy, and I saw that today. I am proud of them.”
It’s difficult to pick a man of the match...
“When we played them both at the same time, you could see that was a bit risky because Jack Hunt was not on the bench before, or Butcher did not play or train too much,” he said. “At the same time, we knew that they could bring us fresh air and energy. You could with Hunty overlapping like he was 20 years old, and Matt looked like he had been with us for longer, and that’s really great for those two and the team.
“It’s difficult to pick a man of the match because a lot of players improved the level. It's a team thing, but all the individuals have to improve, and we did that today.”
Every win is better for the confidence...
“Every win is better for the confidence,” said the head coach. “For me, it’s more important than the one against Barnsley because against Barnsley we conceded too many chances. I never talk about luck because, on that day, I think we wanted it more than them.
“Today, we wanted it more than them, but at the same time, we were doing things better, and so it was more deserved, and it’s really important that we get what we deserve.”
The fans are really important...
“I remember the first [home] game against Leyton Orient,” said Calderón. “We tried to play, and the fans were not too happy about that. They wanted us to cross from everywhere and shoot from everywhere, and now I think we are more on the same page all over the team. The fans are really important because I know it is a little bit of change, but I think it’s important that they see that with this change, we look better.”
