Vote of confidence...

Today chairman Nick Higgs was quizzed by BBC Radio Bristol journalists on the year gone by. It was, as you'd expect, a rather dismal review of the past 12 months given the relegation and poor start to this season - it was an unwanted reminder of how shocking it's been for us recently. As I listened to the interview it became increasingly obvious that Paul Buckle was about to become the topic of conversation, so I was more than a little intrigued to hear what Nick thought on the situation.

Unsurprisingly Nick covered all bases when grilled by a laid back Radio Bris reporter. He explained that we are 'very ambitious' and that 'all the plans we've got for the club really revolve around taking the club forward'. He said this rather sternly, as if trying to dispel the fear among fans that we were settling for League Two mediocrity. I'm encouraged by this, but at the same time he wasn't going to come out and say that he's pleased with the position we're in, so I suppose I shouldn't get too carried away with his statement. Anyway, he then went in to detail about giving Buckle 'time' and that it's important we let him 'show us what he can do' which is a pretty fair point. I think the argument some anti-Buckle fans will voice is that the team aren't good enough to be doing any better and that if we leave him in charge too long, we could be in with a very real chance of relegation to non-league oblivion. That would be the end of Bristol Rovers and Nick knows that I'm sure. The fact he states his ambition along with the fact he acknowledges Buckle needs time to get things right suggests that he is far from pleased with what's transpired on the pitch so far and he is gently, yet publicly, reminding Buckle that things need to be turned around quickly. That will bring more pressure for Buckle and his back-room team and is the typical 'vote of confidence' that every manager dreads to receive, as it almost certainly means there is more pressure on them than they realise to get instant results.

Well that's true for every club and manager except for Blackburn Rovers and Steve Kean where it seems he is invincible and immune from being sacked by Venky's! For what it's worth I quite like the guy and feel a little sorry for him but with their fans as disgruntled as they are, his position seems increasingly untenable.

But back to Buckle and I think it's clear that the Plymouth game is of monumental importance to him. 3 points are a must against one of the only remaining sides below us in the division. I'm dreading the fact that he will almost certainly set us up defensively to prevent conceding as opposed to going all out for the win. I can see why he's worried about our defence, but we've tried sitting back to stop conceding goals before and it just doesn't work because we are so poor there, so we might as well attack and try to score goals of our own. He's got to get it spot on or the fans will be on to him quicker than you can say 'sacked'. He's provided suitable ammunition for fans to boo him by releasing Stuart Campbell, so anything other than a comfortable victory could see plenty of poisonous and unsavoury scenes at the full-time whistle. Rather him than me.

Anyway it's been an eventful day at The Memorial Stadium and one that sentimental fans will not forget in a hurry following Campbell's departure. Personally I think it's a good call for both parties and I'm hoping we can move forward now and climb the league. Although I have said this so many times now that I'm becoming slightly disillusioned with it. Do I have faith in Buckle to turn it around? Nope, not really. Do I want him to? Yes, because I can't bare to see my club doing so badly!

Bring on the Pilgrims and 3 points.