Matt Taylor believes Bristol Rovers will only improve after a strong draw away against Rotherham United in Sky Bet League One.
The Gas were up against it for most of the match against the Millers but have now kept back-to-back clean sheets in the second tier after a 1-0 victory over Northampton Town on the opening day at The Memorial Stadium.
The Pirates were beaten in the Carabao Cup by Cardiff City but displayed defensive resilience to stop Rotherham from scoring, with the hosts tipped to make an immediate return to the Championship.
Taylor insisted that he was pleased with his side, but there is still plenty to improve upon with his new group.
We started the game well
“The game was hard-fought, we rode our luck at times,” said Taylor. “When we didn’t ride our luck, skill moments from the defensive players, including our goalkeeper got us a point this afternoon.
“We started the game so well; I was so pleased after ten or fifteen minutes, and all of a sudden, the home side get ahead of steam, and we just couldn't quite hold onto anything long enough to dilute that in any way. Mainly the ball, and we probably gave away too many free-kicks or set-piece moments against us.”
“We probably had the best chance of the second half in Luke McCormick’s chance. But we rarely threatened their goal and certainly didn’t threaten it often enough.
“There’s a foundation there to build on, I think any Bristol Rovers supporter would agree with that, especially off the back of last season.”
We’ve come a long way
“We’ve come an awful long way in a defensive capacity, and that’s not just our backline and goalkeeper, that’s our whole group,” said the boss. "Credit to them, four points after two games I would’ve probably taken, but I do know that we’ll have to be better as the season goes on in terms of our ball use.”
Tense moments
“I’ve not got enough fingers on my hand to count the heart-in-mouth moments,” Taylor laughed. “It’s a strange position on the touchline for a manager, as it must be for a supporter or any member of staff. It’s out of your control. But we defended our box and goal admirably, and we’ve got a good goalkeeper to back us up when needed.”
“We learnt a little bit, and there was probably a little bit of naivety on show in certain times in the game. Some of the young players haven’t played under that much pressure previously, and their games just wilted slightly in certain ways.
“But their will never changed, led by James Wilson, Taylor Moore at the back, Clinton Mola, and the goalkeeper was excellent.”
Praise for Josh Griffiths
“Josh Griffiths was important, that’s why we’ve recruited him," said the manager. “He’s here to play well and perform well. We found a way to survive, and surviving is keeping a clean sheet. I think our fans could appreciate that, you saw them at the end, and I think the players appreciated the fans.
“There’s something growing at this football club, nowhere near there yet but there’s something to like about each other, and now it's my job to keep adding more and more layers to it.”
The intent and work rate
“Our intent and work rate is our fundamental, that’s non-negotiable, that’s an absolute requirement for a Bristol Rovers player,” said Taylor. “Now, can we start to look at the skillsets?
“We showed a defensive skillset to a certain extent today, can we start to show an in-possession attacking one because that would’ve been a slightly different game if we would’ve used the ball better than we did today?
“Not many teams will come here and absorb that amount of pressure, ride their luck or make saves or blocks and get something out of the game. So, that’s a big plus for where we’ve been previously, but now we’ve got to build on what we’ve got.”
