The Gas head coach held nothing back in his review of his side’s 4-1 home loss to Tranmere Rovers

19:45, 18 Oct 2025Updated 19:53, 18 Oct 2025

Bristol Rovers head coach Darrell Clarke looks on(Image: Geraint Nicholas/PPAUK)

Darrell Clarke has given his Bristol Rovers players “old-school” treatment after the Gas conceded four for the second match running in a regrettable 4-1 defeat to Tranmere Rovers.

The Pirates had lost their last two League Two fixtures before Saturday, heading into the game off the back of a poor 4-0 defeat at home to MK Dons last time out. Back in front of their home supporters again, it was more of the same viewing for the Gashead at the Memorial Stadium who witnessed another four goals fly past the Rovers goalkeeper.

After what Clarke dubbed a “rubbish” start, the Gas conceded the opener after 33 minutes when Nathan Smith headed home unmarked in Luke Southwood’s penalty area. The hosts tried to respond through an effort from Fabrizio Cavegn as he was played into the box by Alfie Chang, however the Swiss striker could not hit the target.

A tough team talk was unable to pick up the Rovers players as Tranmere doubled their lead just six minutes into the second half, Connor Jennings looping a header over Southwood who was caught in no man’s land.

READ MORE: Bristol Rovers 1-4 Tranmere Rovers recap: Four goals down the Gas in third league loss in a rowREAD MORE: Bristol Rovers player ratings vs Tranmere Rovers: Another heavy Gas defeat despite Chang volley

The visiting skipper then doubled his tally 22 minutes later as he tapped home past the Gas goalkeeper, the Northern Ireland international palming a bending shot from Omari Patrick into Jennings’ path.

In the 79th minute, the Super White Army added a fourth, hitting Clarke’s men on the counter as substitute Josh Davison slid to tap in a cross towards the back post.

Pirates midfielder Chang managed to pull back a consolation goal with five minutes of normal time to play but it was too little too late for the hosts.

“I apologise, first and foremost,” said a forlorn Gas head coach after the match.

“I put a team out there that represents me, and we were so far off it today. Out-battled, out-duelled, out-played in all areas of the pitch and it’s not acceptable and it’ll never be acceptable whilst I’m manager. I think everybody knows me now over a period of time here and I won’t accept performances like that, so we’ll be in in the morning. We’ve got to learn the hard way because once is a one off, last week, twice is not. I’ve seen a team out there getting out-battled, outrun, out-competed and outplayed. And when you do that, the consequences are what they are until we get better. So, otherwise I apologise to my supporters and make sure I try and get a reaction next game.”

Many saw this as the perfect opportunity to bounce back from the four goal thumping by MK Dons the week prior, against a Tranmere side who sat 19th prior to kick-off and had only won twice in the league all season.

However, the task proved tough and what was hoped would be a unique four-goal thumping last week became a two-time occurence.

“Listen, one off last week, but for me, this week the training’s been good, intensity’s been good. The talks, the work we’d done, everything seemed really positive, I just spoke to my staff about that. But if you’re not going to back it up at three o’clock on a Saturday, and let’s be honest, we’ve been given the support, right? You know, the fans have been right behind us like they continue to be behind us but when we give them that performance, it’s going to get negative. If we can’t do the basics of the game right, accept it, accept it.”

Clarke and co. brought in 14 new faces during the summer transfer window, giving some much-needed refreshment to the squad that suffered relegation from League One last season.

Some familiar faces entered the fray alongside some brand new names coming to BS7. Some of last season’s group remain as they try and bounce back up into the third tier, but the Rovers boss has made sure no one is exempt from responsibility after his side’s third league defeat in a row.

“There’s one or two that need to, and by the way not just the boys that were here last season, let’s not paper over the cracks, the boys that I’ve signed in the summer [were] nowhere near good enough. So, there’s no point pointing the finger. Everybody has to hold accountability and we’re miles off it. And that’s what happens in football, at levels. If you’re miles off it, if you don’t want to do the basics of the game right, you get punished, and we got punished.”

A steady figure, Clarke is known to not hide when facing adversity, and his response to his players after Saturday afternoon’s defeat shows his tough approach to his squad after such disappointment.

“We started rubbish,” Clarke continued.

“First 30 minutes we were poor. I thought the back end of the first half [was] a little bit better, a little bit better. Second half, I get into them; to be honest with you, I told them at half time they’ll be in Sunday if it didn’t get any better and it got worse. We give a real shocking goal away, the second goal, and then we collapsed. Not enough character, not enough leaders out there. And, like I said, the buck stops with me. You know me, you’ve done plenty of interviews with me, I don’t go hiding, I don’t go shirking, I don’t go in my shell, I stand up and be counted. You know, I’ve got to look at myself and think, these are my players, my systems. I mean, we talk formations, it’s not formations, it was a heart and a desire thing today. It’s an application thing and we’re miles off it.”

“I won’t accept that they’re running harder than us on our own patch, and a team that’s been out of form as well, that won’t be acceptable. So, you’ve got to learn the hard way so a bit of old-school treatment. I’m not all for this smothering players and arms round them when you put in performances like that. There has to be consequences. The buck stops with me because managers get sacked but, three or four of those performances and managers get sacked, you’re on your merry way [and] players are still here. So, we’ll have to find a different way to make sure performances like that don’t happen again.”

READ MORE: Bristol Rovers 0-4 MK Dons recap: Late Dons onslaught means back-to-back league losses for Gas

The Gas have another full week to recover, and an extra day after the Pirates boss revealed the players would be in on Sunday, before they are back in action away to Crawley Town next week.

The unbeaten run that Clarke’s men so recently experienced feels like a lifetime ago and, after only three defeats, it shows how quickly the tides can turn in football.

Rovers now sit in 16th place in the League Two table, with next week’s opponents Crawley second-bottom and eight points behind the Gas. It seems like it could be the perfect chance to bounce back against the Red Devils, but where has that been said before?