Isaac Hutchinson stated his Bristol Rovers team must start collecting points ‘by any means necessary,’ with the Gas only having two fixtures left to play in Sky Bet League One this season.
The Pirates host Reading in Saturday’s early kick-off in the third tier before travelling to Blackpool on the final day of the campaign, knowing they must claim positive results to give them a chance of retaining their place in the third tier.
Rovers have lost seven of their previous eight games in League One and just inside the relegation zone. However, with Burton Albion only above the Gas on goal difference, there is still everything to play for.
Hutchinson will not be available to play due to concussion protocol. Nevertheless, the midfielder was still eager to speak to the media and described his frustrations at being unable to play after suffering the injury off the bench against Stevenage.
“I think probably five minutes into the game, I took a ball to the head, and I couldn’t remember what had happened,” he said. “So, obviously, at that point, I carried on playing the game and finished the game and stuff like that, but after I let the medical team know, and they obviously have to take these things really seriously with stuff and the head especially.
"So, it’s a bit frustrating really because at this point in the season with where things are at and the opportunity to help the team is obviously really important to me. So, it’s a bit frustrating, but I have to listen to the medical staff on this one.
“It’s all down to sensing what the right thing to do is. I’m not someone who normally, even if I was in pain, I wouldn’t tell anyone about it. But when it comes to stuff where you’re not remembering things and stuff like that, it’s important to get that know with the medical staff, and after that point, it gets taken out of your hands.”
Rovers’ defeat to Stevenage was especially disappointing, with the Pirates going into their fixture against Boro with confidence after a good 1-1 draw away to promotion hopefuls Wrexham on Good Friday.
Strong performances against some of the top teams in the divisions has not been a problem, but Rovers have recently struggled against the teams in and around them in the table, with the loss to Stevenage being no different. Hutchinson admitted his team must find their form again and has called on his side to take the positives from their previous wins this campaign.
“We’re just in a tough spot, really,” said Hutchinson. “It sort of sums up where we are. We’re able to put them performances out against those sorts of teams but also put out the performances at the other end of the scale.
"So, look it’s tough, and we need to just try and find that form from the games that we won and the performances where we’d put in a real shift and come out of it with real positives to try and bring it into these last two games."
Rovers looked like they were on the up after back-to-back victories over Huddersfield Town and Bolton Wanderers at The Memorial Stadium in March, but a tough run of form has seen them drop into the bottom four.
Hutchinson confessed their lack of consistency is the reason why they are in the relegation zone and emphasised the importance of getting a victory any way they can.
“It’s why we are where we are,” said the midfielder. “That consistency, being able to find our level and stick at it, has been our problem all season, where we’ve been able to get to a good level and not been able to sustain it for 90 minutes or even game after game. There are two games of the season left now, so that’s not the important thing. It’s just about somehow finding three points from however we play.
He later added: “That’s the aim. We’ve got two games left to try and get six points. Not worried about what anyone else is doing now because that’s not going to help us. We need to put points on the board. So, by any means necessary, we need to do that.”
