Matt Taylor wants his Bristol Rovers side to return to being a forward-thinking team when they host Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon on the back of three consecutive defeats in League One.
Rovers come into this weekend’s clash in poor form having lost 3-2 at Peterborough United last weekend, having been 3-0 down, being hammered 4-0 at home to Wigan Athletic and also being somewhat unlucky in a 2-1 loss at Barnsley.
Prior to this run, the Gas had picked up seven points from four games and played their best football of the season in a 2-0 win over Cambridge United with record-signing Promise Omochere scoring a brace.
Taylor’s men need to return to winning ways soon in order to prevent confidence from draining even further which will come from highlighting what went wrong in the last trio of matches and learning from mistakes.
“You probably watch it in the cold light of day, so to speak, when there’s no emotion involved,” the Rovers manager said when asked how does he shake off a defeat after his side were easily second best at London Road for the majority of the game against Peterborough while also being well-beaten last time out at the Mem.
“Try and get a better understanding of where it broke down or where it wasn’t quite right. What were the aspects, was it structurally? Was it set up? Was it personnel? Was it execution? Then figure out why we looked so different for the final period of the game.
“We weren’t’ perfect in the final stages of the game. Towards the end we conceded chances. They could’ve scored more in the last period of the game but just the way the team went in one direction more than the other direction and that’s been a big focus for us this week. Getting us back to being a forwards team.
“If we’re a forward team and we spend time high up the pitch the ball’s going to end up in the opposition box. But certainly for the first maybe hour of that game, we were too negative and turned down too many opportunities to become a forward team and we’re better going in one direction. It also affects the opposition because you’re more in control of that so if you can try and control anything this weekend, the message has been clear to getting us back to being a forward team and a forward-running team.
“In amongst goals against us there are team aspects and individual aspects and all of a sudden there’s been an individual aspect in the past couple of weeks which has probably compounded the way we’re all feeling right now and I think that some of those mistakes have been uncharacteristic where I’d put those players in those positions again because I trust them and the outcome would be totally different.
“But it’s not been and all of a sudden when one follows another and it happens for two games or a period of time over two games it just shakes you like the team has been. It shakes you deeply and you have to recover from that.
“So maybe, certain ways of giving them, what I always call, a comfort blanket. More security during games and if the ball’s further away from your goal more often then as a defender, you’re probably under less pressure than they have been previously. Not to say that individual moments can’t improve and will improve as well.
“We watched a 20 minute spell in the Wigan game,” Taylor added. “Watching it back, I always watch a game three times, it’s strange to say I only needed two minutes and within that two minutes there were 10 opportunities where it’s in our control of being a forward-thinking team and an aggressive team and a proactive team and we’ve just come away from that.”
This weekend Wycombe are the visitors who, like Peterborough, have tended to have Rovers’ number in recent meetings, winning six of the last seven League One encounters with the only anomaly a draw. Matt Bloomfield’s side are currently 11th in the table with 10 points from six games, having secured victories over Rotherham United, Northampton Town and Cambridge United alongside a draw with Blackpool and defeats to Wrexham and Birmingham City in the opening two matches.
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The Chairboys also made it to the third round of the Carabao Cup with their 3-1 home defeat to Champions League side Aston Villa televised on Sky Sports on Tuesday evening.
Although knocked out of the competition, Wycombe were able to create chances, particularly in the first half, and were well in the contest for an extensive period of time.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s meeting at the Mem, Taylor said: “[A] Better version of what I’ve seen in recent seasons. Their squad, it’s incredible. I assume you watched the game on Tuesday, eight changes and to still put out a team of that calibre. As always, we do match prep on a Thursday and to see their squad and the strength in depth of their squad is absolutely incredible.
“So a team that will be there or thereabouts and fighting for the right areas of this league and right positions within the league.
“[They’ve] scored two in every single game they’ve played in the league this season so free-scoring. Wycombe have been Wycombe of old but they’ve added some quality to it and a different way of playing as well.
“Matt Bloomfield is a guy who I think anyone in football, anyone who’s come across him respects so, so much. What a serious bloke and what a good bloke he is as well and he’s added to that Wycombe team. So yeah, they’re an impressive outfit. A real test for us but if we can be a forward team against what they are we’ll give ourselves a chance.”