“To come away from such a tight game with no reward, is difficult for the team, but we have to accept the defeat and move onto our next game.”

“To come away from such a tight game with no reward, is difficult for the team, but we have to accept the defeat and move onto our next game.”

After Rovers fell to a narrowly disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to playoff chasing Bristol City, Tony Mowbray summarised his brief thoughts with the club’s media team, after he saw his side concede from an 80th minute corner.

“To come away from such a tight game with no reward, is difficult for the team, but we have to accept the defeat and move onto our next game. We put a lot of effort into today’s game, yet it wasn’t to be. I feel for the players, but I’m frustrated at the nature of their goal because of the inability to deal with a basic cross into the box, which has led to a lot of effort and hard work from before the game, being flushed down the toilet.

“It’s never nice to concede from a set-piece, but it’s also never nice when a substitute comes on and doesn’t do his job properly. It’s an unfortunate turn of events, but that’s life, we have to forget about it and move on quickly. I thought the effort and intensity were fine, I thought we played against a good, ball-orientated team who have the ability to tire you out, if they can move the ball through the lines. They’re a good team who are now 12 unbeaten in the league and yet I thought we were going to sneak a 1-0 victory, but unfortunately, we’ve come out on the wrong end of the scoreline.

“We always knew this game was going to be tight, mainly down to the strength within their ranks and their league position, however the nature of the goal we conceded is what frustrates me the most.

“Bristol City are a good team who defend in numbers, which is why I was telling our lads before the game to expect a really tight football match, which will require maximum focus and effort in order to come away with something, but ultimately it didn’t go our way.

“If I’m honest, I’m not interested in the playoffs at the moment. My sole interest is on the next game to try and right the wrongs of today. If you get too hung up on your league finish with 15 games to go, you’re in trouble. We just need to focus on what’s next, focus on the next game, the team and the training in order to make sure the team are fully prepared for their next match.”