ROVERS were not at their best as they laboured to a goalless draw against MK Dons on Saturday.

Manager Darrell Clarke sprang a surprise before kick-off as he chose to leave top scorer Taylor on the bench, along with Lines and Gaffney, as he rang the changes following their extra-time FA Cup exertions the previous Tuesday.

He clearly felt the players needed a rest and hoped the team he had selected would be strong enough to deal with the visitors, who have been languishing in the lower end of the League One table this season.

However, it did not go to plan as MK just about shaded the first half, which was a drab 45 minutes, offering little in the way of goalmouth action.

It did not take long into the second half before Clarke decided that the team needed freshening up with reinforcements, as Taylor, Lines and Gaffney were brought on.

Rovers upped their game from this point and produced a much better performance, but it was not enough to break through a stubborn defence.

A rare clean sheet was welcome and the defence looked solid throughout, with Lockyer and Clarke-Salter forging a strong partnership at the back.

We just lacked some creativity going forward despite surging runs from Lines, non-stop commitment from Sinclair and excellent forward play by Gaffney.

Other players were not quite at the top of their game and the majority of the 9,000 crowd left feeling a little deflated.

Worse was to come, however, as Rovers were on the receiving end of a 5-1 mauling at the hands of Charlton Athletic at the Mem on Tuesday night.

We were second best throughout and matters were not helped by Clarke-Salter’s second half injury after all three substitutions had been made, leaving us down to 10 men.

The result served as a reality check for the Pirates and players will need to up their game to overcome this poor spell of form.

The team needs a positive response and bounce back.