Daniel Wales and Charles Hague-Jones preview Bristol Rovers vs. Barnsley.
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00:00Dan, looking at Bristol Rovers and their next game in League One, at home against Barnsley,
00:07fifth place Barnsley, who are certainly on the cusp of looking back to get back to the
00:12Championship. I mean, if you look at head-to-head, they've met a few times, Bristol Rovers have
00:19won once, Barnsley four times and three draws. I mean, it's not great news if you're a Bristol
00:27Rovers fan, but they are going to try and bring this new lease of life with Inigo Calderon
00:33and carry on from that last league win as well. You can't forget, despite the FA Cup
00:38loss, that this was a fantastic milestone for him to get his first win as the Rovers
00:43boss and keep them just above the relegation zone. But if they are to lose in the likes
00:48of Crawley win, then they go just two points below them in the table and that's the relegation
00:56zone. So, how do you look going into this one? I mean, Barnsley are going to certainly
01:00want those points because of how tight the play-off race is and, I mean, the points can't
01:05be more crucial from now to the end of the season for Bristol Rovers to remain a League
01:09One club.
01:10Yeah, you could argue it's really important for both teams this game. Bristol Rovers,
01:15obviously, fighting off relegation, just claimed their first win under Inigo Calderon and,
01:19of course, dumped out the FA Cup by a half-switch. But then for Barnsley, they're right in amongst
01:23it, looking to get in the play-offs, looking to be coming back to the championship in one
01:27form or another. So, it's not going to be easy for Bristol Rovers at all. Yes, they're
01:32at home, but Barnsley clearly have shown this season that they're capable of picking up
01:36results both at home and away. So, I think Bristol Rovers will have to be on their A-game,
01:41absolutely. They'll have to show a much better display than the one they put out against
01:45Ipswich in the FA Cup. And perhaps they were maybe thinking of that in that game against
01:50Ipswich, the fact that, well, you know, we're not really going to win this game, especially
01:54when it got to 3-0 at half-time. They probably thought, well, OK, let's just conserve ourselves
01:59for this Barnsley game. Obviously, fans would have wanted something different in the stands
02:03when they've travelled all the way to a Premier League side, but the players and the management
02:07probably thought, well, the game's gone now. And I know that sounds wrong to say that,
02:12but let's be honest, they can't be afforded to be going back down to League Two at all.
02:17It would do the club absolutely no good under this new ownership structure. So, things need
02:21to improve on the field for them. Yes, Inigo Calderon got his first win, but that's good.
02:27But it can't be the end of it. You know, you've got that, you're having to build on that.
02:30So, lots of work still to be done, and this is a very tough test they've got coming. So,
02:36it's a game where they're going to have to, you know, play to their absolute strength
02:39and make the Memorial Ground a really tough place to come for a side who are clearly doing
02:45very well this season. It won't be easy at all. I think in terms of set-up, they'll have
02:50to just be quite resolute in defence and make sure they just take the opportunities when
02:54they come, if they come, and make sure they test the keeper. That's the most important thing.