'More difficult' - Inigo Calderon reflects on Bristol Rovers tenure amid desire to stay on

Inigo Calderon has experienced a turbulent four months as Bristol Rovers head coach with the season unfortunately ending in relegation to League TwoSport

Daniel Hargraves Bristol Rovers reporter

08:11, 01 May 2025Updated 08:14, 01 May 2025

Bristol Rovers head coach Inigo Calderon applauds the fans(Image: Jake Manuell/PPAUK)

Inigo Calderon has confessed that his tenure at Bristol Rovers so far has proven to be “more difficult” than he expected when taking on the job in late December with the season ending in relegation to League Two.

The Rovers head coach was appointed as Matt Taylor’s successor on Boxing Day, joining from Brighton and Hove Albion where he had been manager of the Seagulls’ Under-18s.

This has been the Spaniard’s first job in senior management and the initial signs were largely positive along with clear room for improvement as the Gas won six and drew two of his first 15 league games in charge which took Rovers to a comfortable position of being nine points clear of the relegation zone with 10 matches remaining. However, a disastrous run of one point in nine games has seen the Pirates plummet with relegation now sealed.

Asked how the job has compared with what he expected at the start, Calderon told Bristol Live: ” I think I found more difficulties than I expected. I think I found more difficulties than I will ever expect or have in the future in terms of injuries, the transfer window; there’s so many things. Even the group itself with the mood they were. So, a lot of things that, ‘oof, this is going to be tough to find that’, you know?

“It was like, the day I arrive with Kamil [Conteh], all of a sudden he couldn’t play anymore. You say, ‘wow, what happened?’ And after the Promise one, Promise again, Chris Martin, so there were so many things that probably you don’t need. Not even in the first experience, just you don’t need that when you are fighting to avoid relegation. So it’s been really tough.”

Although Calderon has repeatedly insisted that he is not one for making excuses, injuries over the course of his four months in charge have proven to be significant. Club-record signing Promise Omochere picked up a hamstring injury in the Rovers boss’ second game that sidelined the forward for two months before picking up a new problem that ended his season just a week after making his return.

Meanwhile, Chris Martin required surgery on a knee problem after scoring a brace in the 3-2 win over Bolton Wanderers, the Gas’ last victory. The striker isn’t expected to be available to return until the autumn and is out of contract in north Bristol this summer.

Calderon also hasn’t been able to play midfielder Kamil Conteh whose last appearance came in the 3-1 defeat at Exeter City on Boxing Day which the new head coach watched from the stands. The 22-year-old then picked up a mysterious problem involving a bone infection that has subsequently seen him miss the whole second half of the campaign.

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The Spaniard confessed in his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s final day trip to Blackpool that he would like to stay on as Rovers boss in League Two, although he is still yet to receive clarity on his future.

“I tried to do everything possible and I feel so calm with myself in terms of, I think I squeezed myself to a limit to try to make this team stay in the league,” Calderon continued. “And as I say, I sleep quite well in that terms, and I would include everyone here. We tried to do everything against, sometimes the conditions, but with the most fair and honest intentions if you want to say it like that?”

“That’s why I say before about the fans that a lot of fans, they saw that, and even the fact that after the game, they’re still giving me some support. I was like, ‘wow’, you know? After that bad run, I think you could say whatever you want, and they were the opposite. They were trying to lift me up.

“So credit to the fans because I think, as I say, it’s been the most important part of the club and I think in this club, in that, we are really in a good place.”

‘More difficult’ – Inigo Calderon reflects on Bristol Rovers tenure amid desire to stay on

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