Inigo Calderon makes honest confession as Bristol Rovers move within the brink of relegation

Inigo Calderon makes honest confession as Bristol Rovers move within the brink of relegation

Inigo Calderon spoke post-match after his Bristol Rovers side fell towards the brink of relegation after a 2-0 home defeat to Reading

Bristol Rovers head coach Inigo Calderon pictured after defeat to Reading (Image: Will Cooper/PPAUK )

Inigo Calderon has confessed that when he arrived at Bristol Rovers there "were a lot of bad things" that weren't "football-wise" after the Gas fell to an eighth defeat in nine games against Reading, putting them on the brink of relegation to League Two.

A spirited first hour from Rovers was left unrewarded as the Royals eventually showed their quality, scoring a lovely opening goal which saw any momentum from the hosts evaporate.

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After Lewis Wing's opener, Chem Campbell secured the win in added time, putting the Gas even closer to the drop. A Burton Albion victory within their next three matches would seal relegation for the Pirates due to the Brewers' far superior goal difference.

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It has not been confirmed at the time of writing whether Rovers will be relegated or not come their final day trip to Blackpool next weekend, but it looks increasingly likely that the Gas will be playing in League Two next season, and Calderon offered honesty in his post-match press conference.

"I didn’t want to say that when I came, but it’s true that when I arrived, I felt that there were a lot of bad things that weren’t because of the previous manager. I respect him a lot," Calderon told Bristol Live post-match. "But it’s true that when I came to the club there were a lot of things that I didn’t like. It was not just football-wise. It was more the atmosphere and obviously the bad run.

"Listen, at the end, when you are that long in that situation, everything looks worse and it's true that I was quite happy that I think we stopped the falling down when I arrived and I think things were going better. Still, I remember saying that we are not safe when we were nine points clear because I knew that football is too long, especially the division, and you can have injuries and bad runs. I obviously was not expecting this long [a] bad run.

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"But listen, it's been difficult. It's been really difficult, a lot of things, and as I say, in key moments it's not about luck, it's not about and lucky or it's too bad. It's true that in key moments, I always say it’s not about luck, but we don’t have that extra push.

"I remember the games against Mansfield, key games, because at the end, you can lose to Birmingham, you can lose against Reading today, but there were games where I thought that we deserved more. But as I say, I haven’t put excuses. We were in the situation because we put ourselves in there."

Calderon was appointed as Matt Taylor's replacement on Boxing Day and oversaw a decent start with victories against the likes of Cambridge United, Barnsley, Peterborough United and Burton Albion. Rovers then won back-to-back matches against Huddersfield Town and Bolton Wanderers in mid-March to put them nine points clear with 10 games to go.

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However, the Gas have completely capitulated since then, losing eight and drawing one of their next nine games to see them drop into the bottom four. Rovers have subsequently been unable to recover their position.

Although the Spaniard has ultimately been unable to oversee enough results to secure survival, the situation he walked into was tough as the Gas sat 20th in League One after a poor first half of the campaign.

The north Bristol outfit is seemingly set for a fourth relegation to League Two since the turn of the century, despite plans and hopes to push the club towards the Championship.

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Asked if the contributing factors where beyond individual quality, Calderon added to Bristol Live: "It’s a difficult one because it’s too early to talk about the conclusions because there are still games to play; hopefully still one more game. But it's true that something is not going well in this football club.

"When I arrived here I thought, ‘well, why hasn’t this football club been higher?’ Why hasn't [it] been in the Championship with the fanbase, the stadium, with the training ground. Everything looks [like it] should be higher. But the reality is that hasn't been higher for a long time. I think it’s something that I would like to know why.

"But listen, I obviously feel responsible because I am the head coach at the moment and I haven't done anything to change that. It’s not that I feel sorry, but obviously I want to apologise because I don't think as a head coach I have contributed to make this club stay in the league where I think it should be, at least in League One. So I take responsibility."

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