James Belshaw insists Bristol Rovers have no intention of taking their foot off the Gas when they reconvene following this gap in the schedule, as they still need to secure their League One status and neither manager Joey Barton nor the squad itself will allow an “on the beach” mindset to slip into the group.
Rovers don’t play again until they host Charlton Athletic on April 7 and Belshaw and his teammates - outside of Luca Hoole, Lamare Bogarde and Jarell Quansah who are away on international duty - are enjoying some time away from The Quarters and the intensity of the league campaign with their families.
The Gas lie 15th in the table, 19 points from the play-offs - an insurmountable or, at best, unrealistic margin to be breached - but are 10 points above the final relegation place with nine games remaining (the gap could be reduced to nine as Accrington Stanley host Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday night). Logic, probability and precedent dictates they’re not in imminent or even realistic threat of relegation with bookmakers pricing them between 50 and 100/1 to fall back into League Two.
