Taylor Moore insisted every point counts from now until the end of the season ahead of Bristol Rovers’ clash with Huddersfield Town at The Memorial Stadium.
The Gas ended their three-game losing streak with a goalless draw against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night and will be looking to get their first win in three weeks when they host the Terriers on Saturday.
Rovers will be looking to return to winning ways at The Memorial Stadium after losing 3-2 to Rotherham United in their previous home outing and will have confidence after collecting ten points from four games in BS7 prior to their defeat to the Millers.
Moore appeared off the bench for the Gas against the Shrews and was pleased to return to his old club and took the positives about collecting a point on the road.
“It’s always nice to go back to a former club, especially when you’ve got such fond memories there,” he said. “It’s nice to see some familiar faces.
"At the moment, as things stand, we’re fighting for our lives, and so are they. So, the context of the game is really important. It was a friendly reception, but we were there to do a job. Unfortunately, we only came away with a point, but in the grand scheme of things against a team that’s also fighting for their lives, it could have gone the other way in certain moments.
“So, you have to take a step back sometimes and think it’s still a point. As frustrated as we were to not come away with a win, I think there were a lot of positives in the way the team fought. It wasn’t an easy game. It wasn’t a pretty game, and sometimes those nitty-gritty ones and those points are really valuable because we’ve had moments this season where we might have slipped up and ended up losing that game. Especially off the back of what happened at home to Rotherham where we conceded in the last minute in the manner that we did from a set piece, it was a positive point.”
After starting four of their first six games under head coach Iñigo Calderón, but has only made four appearances off the bench in the following seven fixtures. Connor Taylor and James Wilson have been a strong pairing at centre-back, with Sil Swinkels making an immediate impact since coming in on loan from Premier League outfit Aston Villa.
Moore has naturally been disappointed with his lack of starts but admitted he knows it is down to the form of his teammates and insisted he will keep supporting them.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated because, as a player, you always want to play, and you always want to be in and amongst that starting eleven," said the defender. “However, this is football. This is our job and it’s what we signed up for. It’s not always going to go like that, and sometimes that’s the way it happens. The new manager has come in, and certain players have been playing ahead of me. Not only have they been playing ahead, but they’ve also been playing really well.
“James Wilson and Connor Taylor have probably been two of our most consistent players. Sil Swinkels has come in and scored two goals. They are doing absolutely brilliantly. So, as much as I can sit here and say that I’m frustrated that I’m not playing, I understand my role at the moment. It’s probably not the role that every single football wants, but it’s an important role on and off the pitch as well.
“The older you get, the more you realise that some things are out of your control, and you’ve got to support the boys that are doing incredibly well. Those two boys at centre-back, Connor and James, have probably been our most consistent players over the past three months.
“It’s about supporting them and having the right attitude as well because I know if I was in their shoes, I would probably expect the same from them. They are two great boys, and we all get on really, really well. So, it’s healthy competition in many ways. But in the context of where we are at the moment as well, we’re in a relegation fight. So, there’s a bigger picture than 'am I playing or am I not playing.' There’s a team and a role that you have within that team. I think at 27, I’m probably considered in this group as one of the more experienced boys. So, I’ve got to maintain that drive each and every day.”
The Pirates are three points above the relegation zone with 12 games left to play this season and have five matches remaining in a busy March period. With the likes of Burton Albion and Cambridge United picking up points below them, Moore stated other teams will have the same ambitions of pulling away from the drop zone and emphasised the importance of collecting points.
“We’ve got to realise the situation we’re in, and we’ve got to realise that time is ticking as well,” he said. “We’ve also got to respect that some other teams in and around us will be thinking the exact same or have ambitions to get themselves out of that bottom part of the table and also drag teams that are just above us back into it.
“I think we’re all incredibly frustrated after the Northampton game and the Rotherham game. You come away from Shrewsbury with a point, which isn’t amazing, but it’s better than losing the game. It gives us a little spring in our step moving forward into these next two games where Huddersfield, we have to be ready for them, but we’re more than capable if we show the fight and desire like we did last night, to get something from the game. Every point counts from now until the end of the season.
"Every little moment in a game counts. I’m looking forward to the next two games because we’re in this position, and nobody is coming to save us but ourselves. So, we’ve got to get ourselves out of it.”
