Joey Barton admits he was "concerned" by Bristol Rovers' second-half performance despite beating Cheltenham Town on New Year's Day, saying the Gas have "a lot of work to do" to address their flaws.
The Gas bounced back from successive League One defeats with a 2-1 victory over the Robins at the Mem, with goals from the outstanding Aaron Collins and the impressive Josh Coburn putting Rovers in command at the break.
But an uncharacteristic and bizarre error from James Connolly – described by Barton as a "brain fart" – upset the balance of the game, with Alfie May profiting to pull one back before he Gas were left scrapping to claw their way over the line.
Ultimately, they did get the job done, protecting their lead after letting winning positions slip against Wycombe Wanderers and Exeter City, but Barton knows they will not get away with a second-half showing like that against better teams.
"It was a game of two halves from our perspective," Barton said. "First half, on a really poor pitch – I think our pitch is crap at the minute – too much rain on it, very soft under foot and not really conducive to the type of football we want to play, our lads have had the best passing performance statistically in all of our time at the club in the first half, with 450-odd passes.
"We were 2-0 up and looking like scoring a third, fourth and fifth. Cheltenham pretty much just sat on the halfway line and in their own half and they had no antidote to what we were doing.
"We gave the lads a bit of praise at half time and asked for more of the same, but within three minutes of the second half we’ve managed to have a brain fart and we gave them an opportunity to gain momentum and belief and to get back in the game.
"After that, credit to the lads, they got the job done, as tetchy as it was out there. It was all about taking three points and getting the job done, but we haven’t completed 100 passes in the second half.
"To go from one extreme to the other is a bit concerning for me because when we get the ball down and play, I think we’re more than a match for anybody at this level. When we just keep kicking it long and we panic a little bit, we are really in the bottom echelons of the teams at this level.
"Credit to Cheltenham, they kept asking questions and scrapping to get back in the game, but with the greatest respect to them, they should have been put in the ground four or five-nil. We’ve been guilty of giving them a leg up in the second half and from there, we’re a bit tetchy and nervy.
"Against better teams, teams in the top 10 or top eight, you’re probably having to defend more manfully and maybe you’ve dropped two points there. Maybe, as we found out in the Exeter game, you’ve dropped three. Lessons to learn, but a good start in terms of winning in the new year and the first half was excellent, but the second half, a lot of work to do."
The three points lifted Rovers to 11th in the League One table ahead of Saturday's visit to Cambridge United.
Rovers have plenty of room for improvement, for sure, but after two defeats – and more importantly, the fashion of them – it was essential for confidence and momentum that the Gas dug deep to get the three points against Cheltenham.
Barton was delighted to get back in the win column, although he joked Connolly has cost his teammates a couple of days off.
"It was really important we got back to winning ways," Barton said. "The weather, the pitch, the load of games, the way we lost the last game here, the disappointment and everything that goes with it, it was just important we won today.
"We know we can play some really good stuff. Just look at the first half, there were some really good passages of play on a poor pitch. Second half, we got a bit nervy and we made a mistake that cost us a goal and then we had to show a different side.
"I’m pleased with it. Beefy (Connolly) could have gone into the washing machine there and his head could have gone and he could have carried on making mistakes. He didn’t, to be fair to him, he dusted himself down.
"He cares deeply about his profession and his craft and he’s gutted in there because they were getting two days off if he kept a clean sheet, so they are not anymore and they’re all shouting ‘Thanks Beef!’
"I haven’t asked him because I don’t think there is an explanation. He just said ‘Sorry’, which is probably all he can say. There is no explanation for what he does, especially after what he got told in the dressing room two or three minutes before he went out.
"But we’ve got work to do. We’ve got Cambridge coming up and they are fighting for their lives and it’s another opportunity to progress our team. Work to do but a great start to the new year and a finish to what was a fantastic year.
"The stadium was full, back-to-back and Gasheads are happy. We’ve just got to keep getting better and as I say, the best is yet to come. We’ve got so much improvement to come as a team and as a football club. I can’t wait to get stuck in but that’s the perfect start."
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