Kamil Conteh stated that all the players are ‘hurting’ after Bristol Rovers lost 2-0 to Birmingham City in Sky Bet League One on Saturday.
The Gas fell to their third consecutive defeat in the third tier after conceding twice in the first half to the Blues, with Lee Buchanan netting the opener before Jay Stansfield doubled their lead with a penalty.
Rovers have only scored one goal in their last six outings in all competitions and are just one place and two points above the relegation zone.
Conteh suggested that he was disappointed with how the Pirates lost and insisted they must reflect on it.
“All of us are hurting,” said the midfielder. “The manner of the game and how we lost. Besides the two goals, I can’t fault all our efforts. We did all we could, but I just think it’s one of them where their quality probably just shined through.
“I think we just need to reflect on everything, strip everything back and go again next week.”
Birmingham, who moved into second place with three points at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, were one of the favourites for an immediate return to the Championship after signing 17 new players in the summer window, including the acquisition of forward Stansfield for a League One record fee.
As a result, Rovers would have wanted to keep the score level for as long as possible to get a foothold in the contest but went behind in the early stages to Buchanan’s first Blues goal on his return from injury.
Conteh was frustrated with how his side conceded the opener and stated that they must do better.
“I think it’s how we conceded,” he said. “It’s not like they cut us through. It was just a corner and a shot from the edge. So, that’s something we have to reflect on and try to do better because, after that, we were still in the game. It’s hard to take, to concede that early on.”
Rovers had struggled in front of the goal in the last two fixtures, finding it difficult to get shots away against Leyton Orient or Birmingham. Conteh quickly said that his side must focus on themselves to get through a hard patch.
“People can say that from the outside, but we just have to worry about ourselves,” he said. “Everyone individually, we need to do what we need to do. I think you can say we need to do this or do that, but if we just focus on ourselves then it will come.”
Conteh later added: “We need to regroup, go to training, train hard and get ready for the next game.”
