Joey Barton says Bristol Rovers were punished for "naivety" and a series of defensive mistakes in Saturday's 4-2 defeat to Derby County at Pride Park.
The Gas had been in excellent form throughout October, going unbeaten in eight games in all competitions, but they made a dreadful start, gifting the Rams a fifth-minute lead and more mistakes followed in a chastening first half.
Former Sheffield United forward David McGoldrick was in ruthless form, profiting from the indecisive and error-strewn defending by scoring a hat-trick before the interval, with James Collins also getting on the scoresheet.
Rovers had cut the lead back to two goals twice, with Bobby Thomas slamming home from close range before Antony Evans scored from the penalty spot after Conor Hourihane felled Josh Coburn. The Gas improved after the break, but not enough to overcome the self-inflicted damage of the first half.
It spells a disappointing end to an otherwise excellent month for Rovers, who have added 12 points to their League One tally, but Barton was disappointed not to reward the support of 3,100 Gasheads at Pride Park with a better performance – and it compounded an already challenging day following the death of his uncle.
"I’m disappointed for the lads and the travelling Gasheads, who have come out in their numbers again and we were a rabbit in the headlights. We’ve got some lads who need to play an awful lot better, especially when you come to this type of stadium.
"We actually didn’t, we gave Derby a leg up from our own naivety or mistake, whichever way you want to look at it, and then the crowd were with them and we were certainly nowhere near the team that we have been in recent weeks.
"It’s part of their learning. The reality for us is we are still trying to build our team and establish ourselves in this division.
"When you come to these tough places, you have to be pretty much perfect and your start to the game has got to be exceptional. Today, it wasn’t and we got punished.
"We got punished for every mistake we made and we conceded two set plays to start the game. We’ve got a throw-in and we gave the ball and they put him through and he puts it away and the second one is a routine set-play.
"I think we suffered today. We’ve got seven players out, big players in our group. They are experienced and their manliness has stood us in good stead, so to lose them today, I thought we were into lads who were a little bit short of confidence and that showed."
Despite a difficult afternoon for his players, Barton believes they can take great heart and confidence from their efforts in recent weeks.
And between the costly mistakes at Pride Park, he saw positives to take into the week ahead and next Saturday's FA Cup tie against League Two side Rochdale.
"The challenge was not to lose the second half," he said. "I know it’s a big cliché, but the journey we’ve been on, it was important we didn’t get smashed here today.
"I challenged a few of them at half time to be better and then we made changes. It’s great for me that we get James Connolly back because I think he showed the level of player he is. Scotty Sinclair got more minutes and showed real composure and real maturity.
"A bad day at the office. I lost my uncle this morning. My uncle died at 7am, so a really bad day at the office, but we’ll be back bigger and stronger and it starts with the cup on Saturday against Rochdale and then Fleetwood in our stadium, so we’re ready to rock and roll.
"We’ve got a strong group culture that has been forged in the fire of League Two with the promotion and anyone who knows our team and our group knows we will respond. We get an opportunity next Saturday in the cup to do that in our stadium against Rochdale and we must be miles better than we were today.
"I have seen things there that I’m happy with. It sounds bizarre, but the bravery in the second half to come and get on the ball and still try to play.
"It’s a long, hard slog, a 46-game League One season. We must be better but we’ve got to take the positives out of the last little block of games."
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