"Pretty concerned" - Pundit issues damning Bristol Rovers criticism after Wigan Athletic defeat | OneFootball

The Gas have suffered back-to-back defeats after their 4-0 loss to the Latics at the weekend

EFL pundit George Elek has voiced his concerns over Bristol Rovers’ start to the League One campaign under Matt Taylor.

The Gas went down 4-0 to Wigan Athletic in front of their own fans at the weekend, with a Joe Hugill brace added to by goals from Thelo Aasgaard and Luke Chambers.

Taylor Moore saw red with six minutes to play at the Memorial Ground, which summed up a bad day at the office for the West Country outfit, who have won just two of their opening six league matches of the season.

With back-to-back defeats seeing Rovers struggling to create much from an attacking point of view, Elek believes he has cause for concern over Rovers, with their latest outing adding to that feeling.

Wigan Athletic defeat adds to poor Bristol Rovers start

Rovers have netted just four league goals in their opening six matches of the season, with Saturday’s defeat already marking the third time they have drawn a blank in the opening stages of their League One campaign.

After starting the season with a 1-0 victory over Northampton Town, a stalemate with Rotherham United was followed by a 2-0 defeat on the road at League Two champions Stockport County.

Another victory against Cambridge United followed, before successive defeats to Barnsley and Wigan leave The Gas struggling to hit top gear after the first half a dozen games.

With just two shots on target throughout the 90 minutes against the Latics last time out, there are problems going forward that Taylor needs to address, as well as a leaky defence, as Elek eludes to.

Speaking on the Not The Top 20 Podcast, he said: “In slight defence of Bristol Rovers, the goals themselves, both of Hugill’s goals were from corners, and Aasgaard’s goal was from a terrible bit of handling from Josh Griffiths, the Bristol Rovers goalkeeper.

“The fourth was a wonderful, Joe Bryan-like free kick from Chambers that went in at near post, so what we have here is two set-piece goals, a goalkeeper error, and a direct free-kick.

“So it wasn’t like they were being ripped apart in open play, albeit the threat that Bristol Rovers carried was pretty minimal.

“The performance levels aren’t good enough, Matt Taylor came in halfway through last season - it felt like a good appointment to me - but there wasn’t an improvement last season.

“A fair bit of work has been over the summer in terms of recruitment, but it is yet to yield any sort of results, so I am pretty concerned for them.”

Matt Taylor’s record as Bristol Rovers manager has been underwhelming

After steering Exeter City to League Two promotion in the 2021/22 campaign, Taylor has struggled for success since leaving St James’ Park, with an unsuccessful stint as Rotherham United boss preceding his move to the Memorial Ground.

Since taking over The Gas after Joey Barton’s departure last November, the 42-year-old has struggled to get the most out of the talents at his disposal, with his side ending the campaign with a 15th-placed finish in May.

A return of just 12 wins in 34 matches has been far from ideal for a Rovers side who will have harnessed loftier ambitions for the 24/25 season, but find themselves unable to keep teams at bay, or create anything worthwhile themselves.

With clashes against Peterborough United, Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic to come, the Rovers boss will need to pick up some points against teams with lofty ambitions of their own in the coming weeks, to avoid the pressure mounting on his shoulders.