Darrell Clarke details areas for improvement after Bristol Rovers' friendly defeat to Coventry

Bristol Rovers were beaten 2-0 by Championship side Coventry City in their penultimate pre-season friendly

Daniel Hargraves Bristol Rovers reporter

21:45, 23 Jul 2025

Bristol Rovers head coach Darrell Clarke looks on(Image: Bristol Rovers FC)

Darrell Clarke has admitted that his Bristol Rovers side “didn’t look after the ball well enough” in a “real good fitness exercise” as they stepped up their pre-season preparations with a home friendly against Championship side Coventry City on Wednesday evening.

The Sky Blues finished fifth in the second tier last season before losing to Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals and brought a first team squad to the Mem.

Luke Southwood was called upon to make two good saves in the first half before Coventry eventually broke the deadlock in the second half as a Macauley Southam-Hales own goal and a lovely moved finished off by Kaine Kesler-Hayden earned the visitors a 2-0 win. For Rovers, Promise Omochere and Ruel Sotiriou came closest with headers over the bar in both halves.

Reflecting on the match, Clarke told Bristol Live: “A real good fitness exercise for us. We had loads of spells without the ball. I thought we defended really well for large spells if it had to. Nothing came through the middle of us against obviously a talented team; they made the 10 changes at half time.

“The biggest disappointment for me tonight is that we didn’t look after the ball well enough to build our attacks. We’ve been trying to get the basics into the boys to make sure we’re strong defensively, we’re solid. We shipped too many goals last season, we need to knock that on the head, we need do the basics of the game really, really well and that’s what we’re working to, getting the lads really fit.

“That’s why we’re playing two Championship teams and getting the basics with the game without the ball. We know how much work we’ve got to do with the ball. We know how more we’ve got to get connections on the pitch, but also we’re not going to come up against Coventry week in week out in League Two.

“With the greatest respect, they moved the ball well, they’ve got their patterns, they’ve had a consistent way of working now for a period of time,” the Rovers head coach added. “We’re a bit of a newish team, if I’m honest with you, because obviously we write off the last season and the principles that we’re trying to get in play without the ball have been key for us at the minute.

“Making sure we defend well and making sure we’re defending from the front. Making sure teams aren’t coming through the middle of us and the builds and the transitions and being better with the ball will come.”

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The friendly was the Gas’ penultimate match of their schedule in preparation for the League Two season, which starts at home to Harrogate Town next Saturday (August 2).

This weekend will see the Pirates take on another Championship side in Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium, but Rovers’ development process will continue well into the new campaign.

Clarke returned to BS7 for a second spell in the Mem dugout back in May and has been tasked with leading the effort to right last year’s wrongs as the Gas were relegated from League One.

“The attitude has been exemplary,” the Rovers boss exclaimed. “The culture and the environment is miles better, so people keep telling me. We’ll keep growing on that but it’s been four weeks, this ain’t going to be a quick fix. We’ve had four weeks with them. They’re getting a lot of detail at the minute. A lot of work on the training pitch and when the season comes we’ll get to see all that in fruition. Just putting the building blocks in place, that’s all we’re doing at the minute.”

Darrell Clarke details areas for improvement after Bristol Rovers’ friendly defeat to Coventry

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