ROVERS’ fans suffered another wretched week with two more defeats, including the ignominy of handing bottom of the table Accrington Stanley their first win of the season on Tuesday night.

Before reaching that low point there was another afternoon of dejection at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday as the team slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Wycombe Wanderers.

After a fairly even start, matters were made a lot harder when David Clarkson was sent off with less than half an hour gone. Although the decision looked harsh at the time, replays showed that the striker did catch an opponent with a flailing arm and could have no complaints about his dismissal.

It was disappointing to see one of our more experienced players commit a reckless act which left us with a mountain to climb for the rest of the game.

Aside from a Clucas header early on in the contest, the Pirates never threatened the opposition goal throughout the entire match. John-Joe O’Toole’s mediocre form continued as he again failed to reach the heights he attained during his scintillating loan spell last year.

We could have done with him setting an example to the younger players on Saturday and can only hope he can reproduce his all-action performances as he is key to our hopes. Packwood made a decent debut but it was disappointing that our other new loan signing, Henshall, was left on the bench when we have waited this long to see a winger.

The line-up reflected Ward’s negative approach by setting his team up to try not to lose, rather than going out to win.

Rovers’ winless run was extended to eight matches after a shocking 2-1 defeat at bottom of the table Accrington Stanley.

Question marks now have to hover over Ward’s future as the Gas lie in 21th position, just one point off the relegation zone.

Another stern test awaits on Saturday when Chesterfield, who are second in the table, come to the Mem. Massive improvements are needed in the efforts and attitudes of players and management if we are to move away from our lowly league position.