Players 'not where we need them to be' - Taylor
Matt Taylor made nine changes to his Bristol Rovers side as they were beaten 4-0 by Swindon in the EFL Trophy
- Published
Bristol Rovers manager Matt Taylor said the players were "not where we needed them to be" after their 4-0 thrashing by League Two Swindon in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.
Taylor made nine changes to the starting 11 for the cup game but saw his team concede four goals in the first 35 minutes.
He said the first-half performance was the "most embarrassed" he has been of a team.
"The way we went about our work wasn't at the desired level, the acceptable level," Taylor told BBC Radio Bristol.
"But as difficult as tonight was also a bit more clarity - and hopefully a bit more clarity for the watching world - that the squad probably isn't quite where people think it is and the players aren't quite where we need them to be."
League One Rovers have had a difficult start to the 2024-25 season under Taylor who last week said he had an "honest conversation" with the players about the stability of his position at the club.
They had appeared to turn a corner winning their last two league games after a run of four defeats to move up to 18th in the table, before Tuesday's cup defeat.
"I will get stick because fans will always give the manager stick but who do you put on the pitch as a manager? Not many of those players tonight said pick me in the next league game. I think that's a fair assessment of the game," Taylor said.
"We can't just carry people through seasons, some are in a lucky position to train with us let alone be with this football club.
"It's got to mean more than it did to them tonight, they're young, they don't quite know what the game really stands for as yet and it certainly felt like that from where a lot of them were. But they'll quickly learn I'm afraid."
Taylor said forwards Gatlin O'Donkor and Promise Omochere could be doubts for the next match away to Huddersfield Town on 19 October after the international break.
Both went off injured during the defeat by the Robins although Taylor said O'Donkor's is a hamstring issue and potentially the more serious of the two.
"It's not a popped hamstring but there's a certain tightness, a problem in there, so he'll have a scan," Taylor said.