Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Taylor wants durability from his Rovers players
MATT Taylor has revealed that the process of identifying which players Bristol Rovers will look to hand contract extensions to has already kicked-off – with a whopping 18 players having deals that run out this summer.
Included in that total are the six loanees who were always going to return to their parent clubs once the season has concluded, while there are permanently contracted players who have options of a further year written into their current deals.
However, as things stand, there is still expected to be a significant turnover in the summer and, with less than three months until the campaign finishes, opportunities for players to earn themselves an extension will quickly run out.
In the list of players whose deals are set to expire at the end of June, there is a mix of personnel who are regular starters in the first-team and others who have struggled for gametime under Taylor, whether that is been because of injuries, the performances of others in their position or their own performances.
One major issue that has affected the season, both before and during the 42-year-old’s tenure, has been the number of injuries and severity of them to a sizeable proportion of the first-team roster which has contributed to struggles to mount any consistency.
Speaking ahead of today’s match at home to Burton, Taylor admitted that the process of identifying players that the club will want to hand extensions to has begun, saying: “It’s started. It probably started before I came in and will continue. I want to give each player as much game-time as I possibly can and performance and availability go hand in hand. It’s straightforward, you want players who are on the pitch and playing well and you want them in the building next season.
“There doesn’t seem to be much durability in the squad. One thing we have to do at the end of this season before next season is start getting a durable squad first and foremost and look at who played 30, 40 games the season before, the season before that, because we can’t keep signing players who are fantastic players but unavailable – that factor plays a big part and it really affects the group.”
It would not be fair to start picking out every player individually and assess their chances of staying on at Rovers beyond this season when there are still 16 matches to be played and, as Taylor said, he will try to give as many players as many opportunities as possible between now and the end of April. Personal situations may also play a part in whether or not a player wishes to extend. There are so many factors.
However, based on the season so far, there are certainly names in there who have made a significant impact to the team and who you would expect the club to look to keep on, with captain Sam Finley one who is surely high up the priority list given his durability and excellent performances under Taylor as well as the role he has in the squad too.
It was also key that a club option for a further year was added to Chris Martin’s new contract signed last month to keep the striker on for the rest of the season with his value to the squad exemplified after winning League One player of the month for January. Josh Grant and Jed Ward also have options in their current deals to extend further.
Rovers currently lie tenth in the League One table, but 12 points off the play-off places. Indeed, pointswise they are closer to the drop zone. Today’s opponents Burton are two above the danger zone themselves.
Cheltenham Town’s bid to escape the League One relegation zone has stalled in recent weeks with three defeats in a row against Bolton, Derby and Wycombe.
Darrell Clarke’s men are eight points adrift of Reading, who occupy 20th place – the final safety spot.
This afternoon the Robins head to a Cambridge United side who are five points above the drop zone and unbeaten in four matches.
TENNIS: Harriet Dart broke new ground by reaching her first WTA Tour semi-final at the Transylvania Open. The British women’s number three, who has won five matches in a row in Cluj-Napoca after coming through qualifying, beat Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-3, 6-2.