With the Pirates (From Gazette Series)

With the Pirates

IT'S a case of knuckling down and getting on with it as Rovers head for Southend tomorrow for the second time in two months. The Essex side are struggling near the foot of the table, though they dumped Rovers out of the LDV Vans Trophy 2-1 in October.

The financial cut-backs, enforced after Rovers' first round elimination from all three cup competitions, bit deeper this week, with the news that assistant manager John Still had had gone.

And that was on top of the initial month's loaning out of Simon Bryant to Tiverton Town and Anwar Uddin to Hereford United, with Wayne Carlisle and Danny Boxall going on the transfer list. Danny Giloy has been training with Barnet and his future must be in question.

Team boss Ray Graydon said this week that if more cuts were planned he did not know about them but on-loan Ryan Williams cut face a return to Hull unless a further extension is sanctioned.

With a couple of players still unfit and Lewis Haldance facing a one-match ban after collecting a fifth booking at the weekend Graydon's selection options are increasingly more limited.

The cuts, which follows secretary Roger Brinsford's redundancy last month, signify that the board is putting financial prudence first and fans must be wondering whether now it is just a case of staying out of trouble for the remainder of the season rather than mounting a serious play-off challenge.

Saturday's 1-0 defeat by newcomers Yeovil Town in the clubs' first League derby was a bitter pill. It left Rovers with just one win in their last 10 games - and that sort of form is worrying.

Nick Crittenden's wonder strike from 25 yards out on the left was worthy of winning any game. And where did the ball come from? Former Rover Kevin Gall who naturally relished his part in the strike.

Town were well organised, moved fast and passed well. They did all that better than Rovers. Boss Gary Johnson's sights are probably set higher then the play-offs.

"We did OK today but we lost the game," Graydon reflected. "But that's not what we're after. We have to do OK and pick up three points. That's the difference between the two teams. Yeovil are in a good run and it seems when you're in a good run those points fall for you."

Rovers did squander two good second half chances but were much sounder at the back after the break, restricting Town to one of-target effort, though Yeovil were down to 10 after 70 minutes when Jake Edwards was dismissed. But before that Rovers had to withstand bags of pressure and a first-half corner count of 7-0 in Yeovil's favour. That said not a lot for the home side.