Iñigo Calderón admitted his Bristol Rovers team ‘haven’t been good enough’ after the Gas lost 2-0 to Reading at The Memorial Stadium.
The Pirates were looking to boost their hopes of avoiding relegation with a victory against the Royals and were the better side in the first half, with Ruel Sotiriou and Gatlin O’Donkor seeing close-range efforts saved by Joel Pereira.
However, missed opportunities proved costly, with goals from Lewis Wing and Chem Campbell condemning Rovers to their eighth defeat in nine outings.
Calderón reflected honestly on the contest and insisted that Rovers could have got something out of the fixture but confessed their league position is not just because of the loss to Reading.
I think there’s been far too many like today...
“I think there’s been far too many like today,” he said. “It’s difficult to explain because I think we did a lot of things good. Especially in the first half. I would say the first hour of the game it was what we wanted. We were under control and had more chances than them, but it’s true that in the second half, I think the levels started to go down a little bit. In the end, you could see why they are where they are and why we are where we are because we had a couple of chances and we couldn’t score them. They didn’t need too many, and they scored them.
“Obviously, after the goal, I’m not going to say it was game over, but we knew the first goal was key today. I asked the boys before the game today to show their passion even during difficult circumstances. It was not easy, so that’s why I was quite positive at half-time because it was not easy to play the way they did in the first half. Obviously, it’s not unlucky. Today, you can say that we deserved more, but after 45 games, if we are there, it’s because we haven’t been good enough. It’s as simple as that.”
How many times have we been saying that about us deserving more...
“How many times have we been saying that about us deserving more, but I think it’s what you get,” said the Head Coach. “It’s that extra bit of quality. How many saves from their goalkeeper? For me, he was the man of the match. As I say, I don’t think the problem was today.
“It was not perfect because we didn’t win, but the way we played, it wasn’t what you expect against a better team because they are a better team than us at the moment. But I would say today hasn’t been the problem. You play 44 games before, and when you arrive to this situation, everything has to be more perfect, and it’s more difficult.”
It’s been a terrible run...
“I start to remember the game against Birmingham or a couple of games where we deserved more, but we didn’t get that,” said Calderón. “We didn’t get points. In the end, it’s been a terrible run, and I have to take responsibility for that because, in the end, it’s too many games. I never make excuses for being unlucky. The good thing about this division is that you play a lot of games, and then the table puts you where you deserve, and at the moment, we deserve to be down there.”
It’s not in our hands...
“It’s not in our hands,” he said. “So, we have to wait. So, maybe even today, we have bad news from the other side. I cannot even think now about the next one. It’s been so tough today. So, so tough because in really difficult circumstances, to lift the team up from the last game in a short period and perform the way they did in the first half and don’t get anything from the game, I would say that’s the theme for a lot of games.
"That’s hard to take and hard to explain. The only thing I asked them was to try, and they did try. We did try, and I think we were honest today. I don’t think anyone can complain about us today.”
I think this football club deserves to be in a better situation...
“I never say sorry because you say sorry when you don’t try, but obviously, I have to apologise because, as the head coach of the team, I haven’t been able to get the result for this football club,” said the Spaniard. “I think this football club deserves to be in a better situation, and us, the ones who play and the staff, we haven’t done that.
“I don’t think we’ve been on the same level as the club. I think the football club and the fans deserve more than being down there. It’s how I see it. I have tried everything, and I know we have tried everything, but it hasn’t been enough.”
