Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke slams ‘unacceptable’ display

Darrell Clarke admitted his Bristol Rovers team had “lost the trust of our fans” after they were booed off at the end of a third Sky Bet League One home defeat in as many games

A 40th-minute goal from striker Tom Hopper was enough for Southend to take the points without being stretched.

Rovers were not helped by the late withdrawal of skipper Tom Lockyer due to an ankle problem and the early loss of influential midfielder Liam Sercombe with a hamstring problem.

But Clarke offered no excuses.

“That performance was not acceptable in any way,” he said.

“We have lost the trust of our fans and understandably so. It is going to take a lot of hard work and people taking responsibility to get it back.

“I accept most responsibility because I sign the players and pick the team. But after Southend scored I didn’t see any leaders out there trying to get on the ball and draw us level.

“That is not what we are about. There were too many long balls, passing errors and poor decisions.

“I know our fans and what they expect. This is not the start to the season we expected and the players have been left in no doubt that we all have to strive hard to do better.

“Losing Lockyer and Sercombe were blows, but I am not going to hide behind injuries. We had players out there capable of a lot better.”

The visitors went ahead when Hopper shot powerfully past goalkeeper Adam Smith from eight yards after Rovers failed to deal with a cross from the left.

Clarke’s men hit the crossbar through Tom Nichols in the ninth minute but rarely threatened from then on.

Visiting boss Chris Powell had to watch from the stand because of a touchline ban and enjoyed the experience.

“Most coaches will tell you that you learn more from that position, but we are expected to be seen in the dug-outs,” he said.

“I might think about going in the stand again after that performance! I thought the lads worked their socks off in what we knew would be a tough game.

“Michael Turner has been around a long time and he and John White were outstanding at centre-back. Their contributions were the starting block for how we played.

“We scored a very good goal and had the chances to win more comfortably at the end of the game.

“I wanted a reaction to our defeat on Tuesday night and the players produced it. We actually had a patched-up side, with Jason Demetriou in midfield, but you wouldn’t have known it.

“Rovers are a hard side to beat on their own ground and it is a very good result for us.”