Matt Taylor pleased to see Bristol Rovers silence their critics
Posted Wednesday, October 02, 2024 by PA
Bristol Rovers manager Matt Taylor praised his players for silencing his critics with a 3-2 win over Charlton.
Taylor came under fire from supporters as the Gas lost a fourth game in a row when Wycombe won 2-1 at the Memorial Stadium at the weekend.
But he paid tribute to his team as they bounced back in style and eased the pressure on his shoulders.
“The way it unfolded at the weekend was a real blow and so to come back in the manner they have means I’m really proud of them,” Taylor said.
“I had an honest conversation with them in terms of where I felt I was at in terms of my stature at the club and my position.
“They’re not stupid. As a manager you can’t keep on losing games.
“But I was proud of the way they went about their business, led by Scott Sinclair and the senior ones, as they pushed the team to where they need to be.
“When the fans turn on you like they did at the weekend I’m not stupid and the players aren’t either.
“But I just wanted to make sure that they understood that at the start of the season we were trying our hardest to build something positive.
“For that to end sooner rather than later, we wouldn’t have done ourselves justice – myself included.”
Taylor added: “I was very honest with the players – we’ve got a good environment but we’re young and naive and we make so many strange errors.
“But the core group is a positive one and a strong one and it’s one I want to continue working with.
“They gave me a real boost in relation to the way they played.”
Skipper Sinclair, 35, rolled back the years to put the hosts in charge on the half-hour with a classy left-footed curler from the edge of the box.
Midfielder Jamie Lindsay doubled the lead in the 57th minute with his first goal in Rovers colours and James Wilson strengthened the hosts’ grip when he nodded in from close range.
The Addicks got back into the game when Alex Mitchell headed home after 79 minutes before Matty Godden set up a tense finale by volleying in four minutes into stoppage time, but Rovers held firm.
Charlton manager Nathan Jones shouldered the blame for the South London club’s third defeat in a row.
“I got the team selection wrong and that’s the big thing for me, but we won’t get team selection wrong again,” Jones said.
“We got overrun all over. I tried to do something tonight that didn’t work.
“We were ineffective. Our front two were ineffective. Our wide ones were ineffective and the midfield was ineffective.
“Basically all over the team was ineffective and that’s down to me. I take full responsibility. But it won’t happen again.
“There were lots of positives late on and we created enough chances to get something from the game.
“When I came in we were 19 without a win. All we did was build solidity and we’d always be in a game.
“Now it’s crazy. We’ve conceded six in the last three games, which we hadn’t done in all pre-season and our first five or six games.
“We’ve gone away from that. We’re in a tough moment but we’ve got to go back to doing the basics better.”
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