Matt Taylor sits down with BRTV to discuss pre-season, the transfer window so far, his Bristol Rovers squad and the six games to come in August…
It feels like only yesterday we sat down to talk about pre-season and the schedule awaiting the boys…
"So much planning goes into pre-season and it comes and goes pretty quickly. It was a busy five weeks and we got a lot put into it physically from the players. We played nine games all in and we did a little bit of travelling with our trip to Portugal too.
"We’ve been generally pleased with what we’ve seen in pre-season. That’s testament to the planning done by Tom Short and our strength and conditioning team at the Club, and the medical group as well, because the lads certainly seem to be in a good place, fitness-wise, as we head into the first game of the season."
What have you made of the team’s progress as the weeks have gone on?
"It’s been staggered with the opposition so in terms of who we played early on in pre-season, and the minutes on the pitch, that builds and builds towards probably what we’ve seen in the last week of July or so in terms of a better quality of opposition and more minutes during the games for each of our players.
|I don’t think anyone has been too short of game time this pre-season although obviously missing Ruel Sotiriou since the first week has been a bit of a blow and then Chris Martin about a week later than that. Generally, the signings have come at different stages throughout the window too. So nothing has been perfect but in terms of the way the group has gone about it, the mindset and intent of the players and the staff and the whole Club, I think it’s been positive."
Five wins in pre-season. How much stock can we put into victories during the pre-season schedule?
"Every fixture is a game of football and therefore it’s competitive. You want to win anything when it comes to competition. But in terms of pre-season, teams can win every single game and then it goes out of the window in the first league match.
"League matches are different as well and it’s important to remember that. Pre-season games are usually cleaner. Everyone is trying to play a different style or brand of football as opposed to what we might expect when the league campaign gets underway, which could be a bit more helter skelter, less control and more physicality. It will be really interesting because we’ve generally fared quite well in the games we’ve played so far but, from Northampton Town onwards, they will be different tests."
Is there a particular game which stands out for you as a blueprint for how you want your Bristol Rovers team to play and work?
"We’ve been building towards it from the first day and, since day one, the intent of this group has been different. We’ve worked them hard and, with the physicality in the group, they seem to be able to run. But, more importantly, they’re willing to run! The key for any manager is keeping the group in that mindset. I’ve got to pick a team for this Saturday, and then every game after that, in which a dozen players or so will be disappointed to not be in the squad. Will they still be as willing to run the first training session after that?
"These are part-and-parcel of a football season but, in terms of the last five weeks, I don’t think there has been one player who has not shown the willingness that we require. We want that to be a non-negotiable, a fundamental for this football club. Then we can build the skill layers on top of that.
"In terms of performances, unfortunately our fans didn’t see our pre-season 120 minutes against Swansea City. Our first 60 minutes were an impressive game against a serious opposition. We went a goal down inside a minute from a dubious penalty but then played a really good 60 minutes and won that hour-long game 2-1.
"The Portimonense game too, in terms of how the players performed in that heat, and I also suppose the Plymouth Argyle game too. That was our first game back at The Mem, in front of our home fans, and the opposition made it a really good game.
"We’ve tried to get the balance and we certainly feel the team and the squad have had their fill of what to expect going forward."
Twelve new players in the door this summer so far. How happy are you with where the squad is at?
"I’m delighted. Look, in an ideal world you’d have all 12 in the door for the first day of pre-season to get that six-week clump under their belts but that’s never going to happen. It’s unrealistic to expect that but testament to George Friend and his team for having seven with us for day one of pre-season and then continuing to work through pre-season to have even more players joining us.
"There is still a little bit more business to do. We expect a couple of players to come in and maybe a couple of players to also move on, so there’s always moving parts in relation to that. We seem to have a happy, motivated group and we want to keep it that way while adding a few more qualities to it."
You made it down to the Club’s Open Day on Thursday 1 August and got to spend time with some of the fans. How was that?
"It was brilliant! I had a great time. When you’ve got a young family and you get it in the neck a bit when you get home for not spending enough time with them, it’s fantastic that you can combine a bit of the family time with the work-life balance.
"I enjoyed it and I think the players conducted themselves really well too. It was a really hot day and I know they all turned out to meet as many fans as they could possibly be available for. The atmosphere was great too and that has struck me, in terms of the connection between this group of players and the fans. I think as long as the fans can see that all-in effort from our players, they really appreciate that. They want to see that and expect to see it from us and we have to make that a non-negotiable for this football club.
"I think the fans are starting to get excited about what this team can turn into. We’ve always said that it won’t happen overnight and the players will need time. There will be some ups and downs but as long as we keep the intent right and the way the team is looking, in terms of a dynamic, running team, that’s what we’re looking for. The players we’ve got in have bought into that and I hope our fans can relate to that.
"A fan mentioned to me at the Open Day that the way the team performed in our pre-season win over Plymouth was what they wanted to see from their Bristol Rovers team. That comes down to running and effort, first and foremost."
You also were at the starting line for the Stewart’s Sports Tour, at The Mem, held by Marcus Stewart in aid of the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation. How special was that to be a part of?
"It was incredible. The Club will support Marcus Stewart and the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation as much as we can and will continue to do so. To see the numbers of people there, willing to be involved, was special. It was a little bit emotional for myself to see Stephen Darby, who was a player I played alongside at Bradford City. It has been a while since I’ve seen him in pre-season so to see him caught me in a different way.
"But the most inspirational thing was to see everyone there and everyone contributing. Everyone was willing to do the walk for the right reasons and I think that speaks volumes for everyone at this football club, with people willing to go above and beyond for the right causes. That’s what we’re asking our players to do and certainly the staff as well. It’s the culture of the football club and the fans are showing they’re willing to do the same, which is fantastic."
Looking ahead into August, there are six games. Let’s start with the League One fixtures. Northampton Town is a tough test to start with at home…
"All the games are going to be tough. We’ll have the added pressure of it being a league game, which is our bread and butter so to speak, there will be expectation there. But I want this group of players to play light and play free. I know, five minutes into the Northampton game, they’re going to feel slightly different and there will probably be a bit of nervousness amongst them. They will need to run themselves through that.
"Northampton will be a tough test. They are a strong team who have been promoted in recent years, so similar to ourselves, and they performed well last season too. I’m aware they will be strong but it’s a game for us to look forward to. We want to start the season well and get points on the board at the earliest opportunity."
How hard is it to talk about what you might expect from an opposition team before the season gets underway properly?
"It’s difficult. I suppose the only one we’ve got a real idea about now is Cardiff City, when we go to them in the Carabao Cup! Obviously we’ve played them in our last game of pre-season and I don’t mind saying they taught us a real lesson in terms of certain aspects of the game.
"Pre-season is disjointed in so many different ways. Teams might try different shapes and try to play in different styles as well, and we’ve maybe done the same a bit. You try to pick up on the patterns and trends but for the first five games of a season, you’re a little bit blind.
"However, there are great games to be involved in, in what is going to be a strong, fantastic league this season. We know the calibre of teams that have come down from the Championship and also what’s come up from League Two as well. It’s just made this an incredible league to be in and I want everyone to enjoy every minute of it. It might sound like a silly thing to say but that’s genuinely got to be our aim. If we stick together for long enough then we’ll be absolutely fine."
Speaking of Cardiff City, they’re our second game in the Carabao Cup and then Tottenham Hotspur U21s visit The Mem in the Bristol Street Motors trophy group stages. It’s a busy start to the season…
"They’ll be no excuse from a player’s point of view because they’ll all get game-time. There’s a real quality to our opposition. We saw how good Cardiff City were when we played them at home but thankfully, it’s not too far to travel, so it’s a good one for our fans to go across to and I’m sure we’ll be well supported. The pre-season game was a top atmosphere so I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like there for a cup game under the lights.
"Then we’re back to the league campaign with two away games, against two incredibly tough opponents in Rotherham and Stockport County, and in between that a Premier League-quality test in Tottenham Hotspur U21s. That will be a different type of game and maybe an opportunity for some of our younger players too. I think our fans have rightly got excited about some of our younger players they’ve seen throughout pre-season so hopefully that can be one we earmark for some of them to get some match minutes."
The schedule is intense in August. How hard is that to manage when you’ve got some players still building up fitness and yet to reach their really top levels?
"It shouldn’t be too difficult because generally fitness and availability-wise, we seem to be okay at the minute. With the substitutes we’re allowed, we can manufacture moments and game-time.
"That being said, we’ve probably got half-a-dozen players away from being fully fit. That could be down to signing late with us, or a disjointed pre-season, or a previous injury. We’ve mentioned Ruel and Chris already. But, in the next couple of months, we expect those players to fully up to speed. In the next two weeks they might have more-limited game-time but we still expect them to affect the pitch.
"Right now, the squad is strong availability-wise but who knows where we will be in six games’ time. But I hope the group, as they have shown, have more resiliency about them."
Walking around The Quarters at the moment, there’s a feeling and sense of confidence and optimism in the group. It’s spreading to our fans too. Are you getting it as well?
"I am. There’s a natural aspect to that, of course, because we’ve signed a lot of new players and when you’re new to a squad then you want to prove yourself and do well. There’s almost a desperation to be successful and show people why you’ve come here.
"But, even before the signings were made and we did the references and character checks, we want big on the character aspect. That’s because we wanted the right people at this football club. First and foremost, we wanted winners, and we wanted players who have got the potential to improve, but have also got an almost desperation to do well.
"With that, you get the right group with the majority thinking the right things. There’s a hunger aspect there that underlines what we want to achieve. As I’ve said, they will need a bit of time. It’s a young group and we’ll have to be patient with them. I will need to support them as best as I can and give them as much guidance as I can. But we’ve also got a good group of core, older players in the spine of this team that we can really rely on this season."
