Bristol Rovers’s new head coach Inigo Calderon starts work today having gotten his first in person glimpse of the Gas in action yesterday at Exeter City.
The Spaniard will no doubt have been enthused by aspects of what he saw as Rovers were unlucky to fall to a 3-1 defeat at St. James Park but ultimately the position he has inherited is a precarious one.
Due to results elsewhere on Boxing Day, Rovers are still 19th in League One and three points above the relegation zone and have 25 league matches left to play.
There is plenty of excitement around the 42-year-old’s appointment, mainly due to the fact that he is a complete unknown having not worked as a senior head coach or manager before while also being the first Gas boss to hail from outside the UK and Ireland.
Regardless of whoever was appointed, there was always going to be a significant element of risk so the decision to go down a route alternative to the typical run of the mill candidates has been praised. However, Rovers cannot afford for it to fail.
Calderon has a huge job on his hands but based on reading material elsewhere and character profiles from those associated with Brighton, it’s no doubt an opportunity that he’ll be relishing.
Although at the time of publication the new Rovers head coach is a couple of hours into the job already, here are some of the stand out points on his to-do list if the Spaniard is going to be a success in BS7…
Establish relationship with supporters and players
Inigo Calderon made an excellent start in this department on Boxing Day when he took the time to complete a full lap of the away end at St. James Park to greet the travelling Gasheads, applauding them and taking the time to stop to shake hands and pose for photographs.
Character profiles suggest that Calderon is a very pleasant, engaging individual. However, he’ll naturally have doubters considering his lack of senior coaching experience and the only way to win them over will be to win games and quickly.
One of the biggest criticisms of Matt Taylor was the fact that it never seemed as though there was a real relationship between him and the fanbase. Many were excited when the former Rotherham and Exeter manager came in last December but he didn’t quite boast the charisma that some managers have that make them idolised by their fanbase. Once Rovers stopped winning football matches regularly, which was pretty early into his tenure, he didn’t have the relationship factor to fall back on.
Forging a strong working relationship with his players will also be essential for Calderon. Not once did it ever seem as though any of the individuals who played for Taylor would have run through a metaphoric brick wall for him. Instilling some squad unity, under the assumption this new group could be bonded even tighter, also won’t do any harm.
Navigate January plans
You would expect that director of football George Friend already has an outline of how Bristol Rovers plan to approach the upcoming January transfer window considering that the Gas’ ethos of late has been to make club appointments as opposed to ones specifically for the manager or head coach in charge.
However, the major question for Inigo Calderon when it comes to recruitment will be whether he’ll be able to use his strong links with Brighton to bring in any youngsters ready for a loan that may be able to help the Gas.
Departures are certainly possible too in this window, which opens on Wednesday, and Calderon won’t have an abundance of time to assess the current state of his squad and where they may need some reinforcements.
On the back of a summer in which 16 signings were made, there won’t be a significant amount of business that Rovers can do but now that they’ve got a new head coach in place, he will certainly be expected to have some sort of say in regards to mid-season recruitment.
Install an identity and stick to it
Another criticism of the previous regime, particularly when it came towards the end, was that it was never quite clear what Bristol Rovers were actually trying to do on the pitch; there was never a clear identity.
There was emphasis going into the new campaign on starting off solid then building upwards but after keeping three clean sheets in their first four league matches, Rovers have since conceded 30 goals in 17 matches, admittedly four of those goals were under interim care.
Inigo Calderon won’t be able to immediately install a fast, free-flowing style of play that gets supporters purring and catapults the Gas up the league table and he’ll likely have to adapt to the rigours of League One.
However, Gasheads will appreciate the effort of working towards playing a certain way as opposed to struggling to keep out goals and failing to create chances let alone score goals.
Get the best out of big-money forwards
With two goals in two games, we now seem to be seeing the best of Promise Omochere in a Bristol Rovers shirt but it’s no secret that there is so much more to come from the Irishman as well as Shaq Forde and Ruel Sotiriou, even Isaac Hutchinson to an extent as a creative.
Rovers invested heavily in the quartet over the summer, handing them all three-year contracts with the option of a fourth, and need to see more return for their investment.
Bristol Rovers Live on Whatsapp
Join Bristol Rovers Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol Rovers stories sent straight to your phone
Bristol Rovers Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol Rovers news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
All four players have had games in which they’ve demonstrated glimpses of brilliance and offered an insight in what they can bring to the table. It’s just been a case of consistency.
Both Forde and Omochere were excellent against Exeter City on Boxing Day while Hutchinson consistently looked a threat. Sotiriou’s time at Rovers overall has been a disappointment but you don’t score 11 League One goals for Leyton Orient if you’re not good enough to succeed at this level.
All four players have major potential, as does Oxford United loanee Gatlin O’Donkor, and the defence-first mindset of before probably wasn’t the right system to unlock their true powers. With helpful guidance and support, there are no limits to what these forwards can achieve in a Rover shirt.
Keep Bristol Rovers in League One
Easier said than done right? At the time of writing, Inigo Calderon hasn’t spoken publicly but the current assumption is that his remit from above is to achieve more than just survival this season.
It’s no secret that the Bristol Rovers hierarchy have set out a top half finish as the target for this campaign and, admittedly, that is still achievable when it comes to points with the current margin eight points. However, so many aspects have to improve and improve swiftly for that goal to be realised and the chances are half a season in arguably the most competitive League One ever won’t be enough time for the new head coach.
The main target for this season now is to ensure that Rovers are a League One club come May. Sure, scrapping for the remaining months of the campaign is far from ideal but Calderon has inherited a precarious situation that could well get worse before it gets better.
There were certainly a number of positives to take from the display at Exeter despite the result but how many times have we praised a performance for it not to be followed up with a good result this season?
No fixture is favourable per se but Calderon comes into the job with a run of games that Rovers can certainly take some points out of. There just has to be a sense or realism that shooting up the table quickly will be a tall order.