Exclusive: Shocking revelation from Bristol Rovers boss you will not believe what he just promised after Rovers defeat

Matt Taylor saw positives in Bristol Rovers’ performance, but said that defeat to Bolton Wanderers was another harsh lesson learned.

The Gas put up a valiant fight against the promotion-chasing Wanderers at The Memorial Stadium, and they looked the superior team for much of the first half and early exchanges of the second, with Chris Martin and Luke Thomas both coming close.

But a disastrous moment in midfield for the home side allowed Bolton to strike the lead moments later, through former Rovers attacker Aaron Collins, before the Trotters sealed the win with a late penalty from Aaron Morley.

Defeat, particularly the style of the loss, seemed cruel on Rovers, but manager Taylor wants his team to learn from their disappointments in failing to win up points.

Despite the team’s poor performance in Saturday’s game, the manager is optimistic about their ability to recover.

It was a painful outcome, but it is another lesson learnt.

In terms of the first aim, we just underestimated what was required at the time. We’re currently learning the hard way.

We had some excellent opportunities at the opening of the second half.

We also finished the first half really nicely. It’s just not going our way right now in terms of final efforts. We’ve witnessed a couple of saves, ricochets, and near misses. We just need a little more in terms of that.

At the same time, when our goalie hasn’t been tested all game and you concede a goal like that, it’s quite disappointing. This is a tutorial for the players.

We’ve said too many times that we’re a strong defensive club, only to fall behind and chase the game.

The game brings about a sense of recognition and attentiveness. We tried to style out of the moment that led to the first goal, which detracted from the fine, hard work we had done up to that point.

In fairness, we were up against a quality passing side, and they worked our backline and the space behind us in the second half. When the goal comes, it relies on your quality in the last third, which we lacked.

I couldn’t fault the first 20 minutes of intent.

From 20 minutes on, we played reality well. We had that phase till halftime, then started the second half really well, but now we’re trailing the game.

I am satisfied with James Connolly.

He knows how to use the ball and is confident in his abilities. He takes pride in his defensive efforts, and he can definitely play with his head up, which is unusual for a centre-back. It’s encouraging that he’s getting some playing time, and he’ll continue for the next five games as long as his body allows.