Three local derbies and a cup-tie

 

 

After a decent spell to the Appleton era, there have been a few unpleasant results. It’s seemingly been all downhill since that euphoric win at the Emirates Stadium.

In fact, no more so than the first 45 (or in particular, 27) minutes against the bottom side in the Championship, Peterborough United. After seeing their former star player George Boyd had joined Hull City, this appeared to be a mere formality, and that’s exactly what must have gone through the minds of the members of the squad.

At the break, as was quite desperately needed; a treble-change saw Danny Murphy, Bradley Orr and David Bentley withdrawn for Adam Henley, David Jones & Cameron Stewart, the latter two having not even trained with the first team since joining on loan from Wigan & Hull respectively. Rovers attempted what would be an unlikely fight-back and pulled back to 2-3, but ultimately could not complete the task of getting back level. Rovers fans won’t soon forget the name Dwight Gayle.

Following that disaster of a result, the faint hopes Rovers have of making the playoffs has almost all but completely evaporated, with sixth-placed Brighton ten points clear with just eleven games remaining. Rovers’ next three league games are all north-west derbies, starting tonight with a trip to Bolton. There’s also a small matter of an FA Cup quarter final tie with Millwall on Sunday.

Would winning a few local derbies and an FA Cup quarter final go some way towards healing the wounds? Perhaps, but the ultimate goal this season was an instant return to the Premier League, something which is all but beyond us now.

A number of changes are likely this evening, and with Appleton casting his eye over a number of underachievers, a large portion of players are playing for their futures. Jake Kean and Jordan Rhodes are two players to come out without their reputations taking too much damage, but it’s clear some players in the squad need to take a good look at themselves in the mirror. To start changing the manager’s mind, if it isn’t already too late; those players need to start tonight at the Reebok.