Taylor Moore has personally apologised to supporters on behalf of the Bristol Rovers players who featured in the Gas’ 4-0 hammering away at Swindon Town in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy on Tuesday night.
The 27-year-old took the armband and was one of nine changes to the starting line up that beat Burton Albion in League One three days prior.
However, the much-changed Gas side produced a dismal first half performance, conceding all four goals before the interval with their League Two hosts also making a number of changes from their previous league fixture, including some academy debutants.
Reflecting on the game and display, Moore said: “It’s actually hard to put it into words but obviously being captain tonight and speaking on behalf of everyone, the main word that I’m going to put forward is embarrassment. I think each and every one of us, that’s myself included, have got to hold ourselves accountable for what’s happened here tonight.
“It’s very easy to point fingers at other people, tactics. Obviously people blame the manager, the owners. That’s an excuse and tonight I’m not deferring whatsoever that the actual problem was us as players.
“So the minute we step on that pitch we need to be better. We need to be more professional and I just think from minute one tonight, unfortunately, each and every one of us can say that we’re embarrassed after tonight’s performance.
“They’ve come here on a Tuesday night and to every single fan sat up in that stand, I apologise,” the stand-in captain added. “As a team we apologise because that’s not acceptable. It’s not our standard.
“I know it’s two completely different things, the Bristol Street Motors and the league, I think the fans would all agree on that. But the importance is the same every time you put on the shirt, no matter what club it is or where it is. You actually take personal pride in your own performance and the way you conduct yourself.
“I just think that too many of us tonight, again I’m not pointing fingers, I include myself in that, can hang our heads in shame because that is not acceptable.
“My assessment is an honest apology to each and every fan that came tonight and every single fan that sat at home and watched it as well. And obviously to the manager. As players I think we’ve got to look at ourselves and think that’s not acceptable, that’s not what the manager and their coaching staff have actually put forward. So apologies to all three of those groups of people but it’s a tough interview to do.”
On the back of consecutive victories in the league last week to put an end to four defeats in a row, the mood around the club had certainly improved.
The Bristol Street Motors Trophy has never been seen as a priority and will always be a controversial competition given it’s modern-day format. However, the game was seen as a great opportunity for players on the fringes of the regular starting league side to impress. Instead, it ended up being a desperately poor night for the team.
As Moore highlighted, that competition and the league are two completely different entities and it will be the latter that Rovers will direct the vast majority of their focus on for the remainder of the campaign given that they now have a very slim chance of progessing to their knockout stages of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy with a home game against Exeter City later this month while FA Cup duties will begin in early November.
The hope will be that the Gas will be able to add to the sliver of momentum built after victories over Charlton and Burton when they face the tough task of Huddersfield Town away when they return from a break induced by international call-ups in the Blackpool squad with the Tangerines originally scheduled to visit the Mem this weekend.
Asked whether the break has come at a good time for Rovers have an opening two months full of some highs but a number of lows, the centre-back admitted: “I think if I said no I’d be lying. I think we’ve kind of got through the storm in many ways but we just know that there’s going to be a lot more to come. We’ve got lots of fixtures, big games, big teams and we’re going to come up against some of the big, big teams in the division as well where we’ve just got to attack it. What is there to lose?
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“We disappointed ourselves with the run of form that we had over four games but we knew deep down that we had more to give. So very proud of the boys, I missed one of the games through suspension and came on against Burton. It’s tough when you’re not involved like that and watching the negative results come in and I think the break has kind of come at a good time for us to reset but also as a footballer you’ve got to pick yourself up and go again every day.
“We’re going to use it to kind of reset and full on attack into Huddersfield and the rest of the games coming up.”
For Moore himself, a red card against Wigan saw the 27-year-old suspended for the defeats against Peterborough and Wycombe and the win over Charlton before making his return from the bench at Burton last weekend.
On the upcoming run where he himself will be trying to stake a claim back into the side after starting the opening six league games, the summer addition added: “This is the frustration where we’ve probably come up against teams in and around us, your Wigan’s, Peterborough, Barnsley, where they’re probably not as big as your Birmingham’s, your Wrexham’s and obviously Huddersfield as well.
“This is where we’ve had to kind of evaluate where we’re at. An honest assessment as a group and think, ‘right how can we get better, how can we move forward?’ I think the last two results we’ve had in the league have been positive. Gained a little bit of confidence, a little bit of belief back in and amongst us but as one of the senior lads in this group I can say it’s our responsibility to keep driving that dressing room.”