by Cole Martin
GRAHAM Coughlan admitted his side failed to turn up in what was a night to forget for Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.
The Gas were defeated 2-0 by bottom side Bolton Wanderers, in a match which saw Bolton heroically pick up their first win of the campaign in League One.
Rovers have now dropped down to 10th in the table, after facing back to back defeats for the first time this season.
The Irishman accepted that expectations may have been set too high, but insisted his squad haven’t played to their potential over the past two games.
“These lads have set standards, they’ve raised the bar for this football club over the last ten months, but we’ve not turned up for a game and a half and that’s disappointing.”
Luke Murphy put the visitors ahead in 15th minute, before the lead was doubled by Daryl Murphy in the 68th minute to astonishingly triple the Trotters’ away goal tally for the season.
A first win for Keith Hill’s side also meant a first defeat at the Memorial stadium for Bristol Rovers, and Coughlan admitted the outcome was a fair reflection of the game.
“They’ve got their heads down in there, the lads know, they haven’t turned up, they haven’t applied themselves or acquitted themselves as well as they should.
“We probably didn’t deserve to win the game, we probably didn’t do enough to win the game.”
Despite a setback after a positive run of form, Coughlan remains confident about the character his squad possesses.
“They will come back, I know they will come back because they’re a great group of lads.”
Bristol Rovers will have a chance to re-discover their formidable home form as they host Kenny Jackett’s Portsmouth at the Memorial Stadium this Saturday.
