Final Day Defeat

Bristol Rovers capped off a whirlwind first year back in League Two with a 4-0 hammering. Unlike in recent home games though it wasn't us dishing out the defeat, as Dagenham & Redbridge capitalised on a poor performance to romp home at Victoria Road. A disappointing way to embark on the summer break, especially as over 600 Gasheads made the trip to Essex, but worse news was to follow shortly after the final whistle. Player of the year Danny Woodards was confirmed to have a fractured fibula and was set to be sidelined for 3 months. Whilst it's come outside the football season it does mean he'll miss pre-season which is never good for a player.

Gasheads

The only crumb of comfort is that Woody may now been less likely to receive offers from elsewhere and may be more inclined to sign an extended contract with us. Either way it's incredibly unfortunate for our most consistent player and Mark McGhee made his thoughts perfectly clear when he stormed the length of the pitch to remonstrate to referee Mark Haywood. He argued it was a ridiculous tackle and one that didn't need to be made in the final minutes of the season. I'd suggest slightly stronger words were used but that was the gist of it. He's absolutely right though. It was a shocking challenge and the player was booked by the ref following McGhee's outburst.

The unpleasant events made the trip home rather long but it's important not to overreact. It was one bad performance in a meaningless game. We've played magnificently well at times under McGhee and we've played poorly a few times under him, overall though I think there's enough proof to be optimistic over the summer months. Yesterday will have opened his eyes to the fact some players aren't up to it and that will hopefully be reflected in the retained list revealed this week. I'll look in to who I think will be released over the next couple of days but I think it's quite clear to most who they will be. It'll be an interesting summer of recruitment and its something we need to get right. I have the utmost belief in the judgement of McGhee and still think we're fortunate to have a man of his knowledge and experience in charge of our club. 

The new campaign can't come around quick enough but I think its important we enjoy a break and regain our focus and enthusiasm. We'll need it that's for sure! We'll keep our eyes peeled for all the happenings over the summer and hopefully see our excitement levels build!

Fantastic support yet again Gasheads, we deserve some success and next year will be out time.

Up the Gas!