Bristol Rovers manager Paul Tisdale says his side’s performance against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday embodied the club’s identity after their rampant 4-2 win on the road.
The Gas ended a seven-game winless streak with a resounding away victory at Plough Lane and says there were similarities to the great Rovers teams of old.
“I have watched Bristol Rovers teams for the past 35 years and there was always an identity, be it Ian Holloway’s team at the Memorial Ground or even back to the Eastville days.
“There was tempo, spirit and drive. The teams I can remember when I first watched the club at Eastville and Twerton Park were always on the front foot.
“That was what the club seemed to play like. There was always a forward momentum, running forward, passing forward, and there was some life and vigour about the team and I saw that on Saturday.
“I’ve been here for two weeks and all my narrative has been about movement purpose, and they showed it on Saturday and the good bits of play came off the back of it.”
The club has undergone a transitional period since the dismissal of Ben Garner in November, but Tisdale believes there are promising signs from his young team.
“I’m delighted with the team, I love their mentality and they listen to me and try the things I ask them to do. Don’t get me wrong they’re not perfect, but there was forward momentum and forward motion in our performance at the weekend and they gave everything.”
Although there have been promising signs of progression on the pitch, Tisdale admits the difficulties off the pitch due to Covid-19 are starting to become increasingly frustrating.
The former Exeter City manager was appointed on November 19th, following the sacking of Ben Garner and says the ongoing pandemic has caused multiple logistical issues for his side, claiming it’s a “complete mess”.
“I’ve been here for two weeks, I haven’t got an office yet, I haven’t got a changing room, we’ve got COVID restrictions. The players come in ready-dressed, we’re all over the place so logistically, it’s very difficult and every day’s a challenge, but I’m loving it.
“I’m looking across the board and thinking ‘I need to sort that out, I need to identify that’. We need more respect for our pitches, we need more respect for the club, we need more discipline and structure and it’s a complete mess, but again, I’m loving it.”
Rovers had previously leased training facilities for several years, before moving to their brand new Almondsbury Training Centre in late October, reflecting the ambition of the club’s hierarchy, manager and players.
Tisdale will hope normality will be resumed as soon as possible as he looks to shake up his squad and propel the Gas higher up the League One table, but if their performance against Wimbledon was anything to go off, they should stay up comfortably.
