Inigo Calderon offers verdict on lack of leadership claims after latest Bristol Rovers defeat

Bristol Rovers edged closer to relegation from League One after a seventh defeat in eight matches on Monday against StevenageSport

Daniel Hargraves Bristol Rovers reporter

12:00, 22 Apr 2025

Bristol Rovers head coach Inigo Calderon offers encouragement to his players(Image: Will Cooper/PPAUK)

Inigo Calderon has played down claims that Bristol Rovers are suffering from a lack of leadership within their squad amid reccuring questions regarding the number of authoratitive figures at the club.

A 1-0 defeat at home to Stevenage on Easter Monday was the Gas’ seventh loss in eight matches, subsequently denting their hopes of avoiding relegation to League Two further.

Throughout a poor campaign, supporters have noted a lack team chemistry while there have also been ongoing questions towards a lack of leaders in the group with Rovers producing a gutless performance on Monday.

Although there was an influx of young players last summer transfer window, Calderon still has experienced players within his ranks. When asked whether his team was suffering from a lack of leadership, the Rovers head coach told Bristol Live: “No. I’m not going to point [at] anyone because the first one I have to point at is myself, and everybody is trying to do their best. Obviously, it has not been enough, not because they are not trying, but the idea is that we are not performing at the level we have to. Simple as that.

“But as I say, it’s not because of lack of good intentions because I can see it’s difficult. If you see the game [and] say, ‘they don’t want [it]’ or ‘they don’t care’. No. I see them in the training ground trying to do everything possible.

“We are in the situation that we are not knowing how to cope with this stress that we create ourselves.”

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The starting line up that Calderon named for the defeat to Stevenage, which was unchanged from their 1-1 draw at Wrexham three days earlier, had an average age of 26.3 with 18-year-old Kofi Shaw the youngest and 36-year-old James Wilson the eldest.

Alongside Wilson, who wore the captain’s armband before Scott Sinclair came on from the bench, 33-year-old Romaine Sawyers and 34-year-old Jack Hunt were the only other players over the age of 27 that started, as well as 35-year-old Sinclair.

On top of a lack of leadership, Rovers’ mentality has also been questioned at different stages of the campaign and that was the case once again on Monday after a drab display in a must-win match.

The Gas’ struggles to pick up results after going behind in games has been well-documented, with the Stevenage defeat the 21st league game his season in which Rovers have conceded the first goal and gone on to lose.

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Although he refused to question his team’s lack of leadership, Calderon hasn’t shone away from the fact that his players are struggling mentally, responding post-match when asked what the main issue is currently: “I think it’s probably the mental side, and that’s the most difficult one, because at the end, you can [plan] the game plan or the shape or the 11; I think at this moment it’s irrelevant.

“It’s how we and the players can cope with the situation we are [in] and that’s not easy because, as I say, we can change and the game, something happens, and it’s difficult even to train these things. I cannot train that. I cannot train to feel the disappointment or the frustration that the players felt after the goal. I cannot train that. I cannot coach that. It’s difficult.

“Obviously, I have to try to help that because that’s my job, but it’s difficult to stay in the situation and live with that and, as I say, [I’m] more frustrated because I think we did that a little bit before. I remember games like Mansfield, Exeter, we collapsed after the goals and that happened again today. It’s nothing new but, at the same time, I think it’s the most difficult thing to change.”

Inigo Calderon offers verdict on lack of leadership claims after latest Bristol Rovers defeat

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