‘Fantastic experience’ – Andy Mangan on the Bristol Rovers caretaker spell so far against Carlisle

Bristol Rovers caretaker manager Andy Mangan spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon ahead of the Saturday’s match at Carlisle United.

Andy Mangan has described his time as caretaker manager of Bristol Rovers so far as an “incredible experience” for the caretaker manager, who has been in the role for two weeks. No one can say exactly how long it will take for the club’s board to appoint a new manager when they parted ways with Joey Barton two weeks ago, but taking charge of four matches in 16 days is as good as anything. Accompanying the Work is an introduction to Mangan.

That fourth match comes this Saturday when the Gas make the mammoth trip to Cumbria to face Carlisle United at Brunton Park with Rovers knocking on the door of the top 10 in the table.

It remains unclear whether this will be his last game as caretaker, with the 37-year-old saying the process is taking place on a “game by game” basis. “Honestly, it has been an incredible experience,” the interim boss told the media on Thursday: I really want to win on Tuesday night. This could have been an incredible start to the coaching transition cycle, but we drew 1-1. I am an extremely optimistic person. Would I be too depressed? No, I will try to come and show the players where we can improve.

“I think the fans understand that too, they’re incredible. 3,000 away on a Tuesday night, it’s unbelievable. I’m so happy for Nick Anderton because he’s received a great welcome. We go into Saturday with full confidence to achieve victory.

“One game at a time. I just need to prepare the best team possible to win football games. Who knows? But the guys are in a really good mood. I think they were more disappointed on Tuesday because they felt that, especially with the penalty decision at the end of the game and maybe some of the chances that they were disappointed not to take, I think they were really disappointed.

“It was really frustrating that night, but when we came back and fell a little bit, we were back up to 12th and had a game in hand. We are one win away from getting into the top 10 which is fantastic so it’s all progress.”

Mangan added: “It’s about winning. You have to win games of football. The fans expect winning football. The squad demands winning football so nothing changes in that sense. There are a lot more meetings that I’m having and a lot more press but it’s part of the job. I fell in love with it.

“You just want the matches to go on and on, but with the amount of books I’ve read, I understand why managers say they love the matches and the days before you prepare. All of that is very exciting. We’ve gone four games unbeaten so our form isn’t that bad. There are a lot of areas we can improve and we’re trying to improve them during practice. We have another big game on Saturday against Carlisle and hopefully we can get the right result.”

There has been particular positivity from the caretaker manager of late regarding squad health. After the Whitby Town win last Saturday, Mangan declared that his squad are near full compliments which has been well received given how bleak the injury situation at Rovers has been at times this season.

Last month saw the Gas unable to list a full substitutes bench for the games against Port Vale and Oxford United because there were so many players on the treatment table but it does look as though that will soon be fully past Rovers with the likes of Luke Thomas, John Marquis, James Wilson, Tristan Crama and George Friend recently returning from respective setbacks and contributing immediately.

Of course, Mangan and the medical team at the club will have to manage players carefully to avoid further setbacks on a wholesale basis and the interim boss did admit that there are a few knocks in the squad that are still being checked before a verdict is made tomorrow (Friday) ahead of travel to Carlisle. Additionally, Luca Hoole will be sidelined for a few weeks which will see him miss the upcoming Wales U21 squad.

“Yeah there are [knocks],” the caretaker manager revealed. “It’s the second day of recovery so we just need to see how the bodies are. A couple of them are still recovering so we’ll see how they come out of the game Tuesday tomorrow and then we’ll assess the squad and pick a squad to go and win the game at Carlisle but it’s too early to say because they’re on a second day of recovery.

“I think we might have a couple of players back as well which is really exciting. The squad is looking really healthy. We’ve got a really good squad here at Bristol Rovers so exciting.

“Unfortunately for Luca, he’s taken a bang so he’ll be out for a few weeks. It’s nothing serious but it’s going to keep him out for a few weeks. I’m devestated for Luca because obviously it’s an amazing thing, representing your country and I know that he’s devestated that he can’t go. I think it was a 10 day camp.

“In periods like this for young lads, you can still improve. You can still watch games, you can still watch what players in your position are doing and it’s always an opportunity to get better.”

Mangan also offered an update on Grant Ward, saying: “He is really close which is another positive for the squad. The legs that he gives, the distance that he covers, the quality that he has, we’ll be really lucky when Wardy comes back. He’s just been unfortunate really. He had that period of time out and then he plays in that game against Burton Albion and then it’s just a niggle really so you just have to be careful.

“What we can’t do and what I can’t do, even in the current situation, I won’t risk it with Wardy. It’s not the right thing to do. I’m me’ I won’t risk it. “You have an obligation to the player to make sure he’s looked after so Wardy comes back when he’s fit and ready to come back. He’s so close and we can’t wait to get him back.”

“Besides Ward, right-back Jack Hunt is largely absent after being out for a month while Luke McCormick could return sooner than expected after suffering an ankle injury in training a few weeks ago.

What is particularly pleasing to see of late is the return of Wilson and Friend, with the defensive duo both starting at Reading on Tuesday night. Both players are among the oldest and most experienced players in the squad, which was one of the reasons Rovers signed them on a free transfer during the summer transfer window.

However, both have not had a consistent series of matches since the beginning of the season and each suffered two setbacks. At 34 and 36 respectively, only the players themselves can answer whether starting two matches in the space of five days is realistic, but when asked how Rovers currently manage the pair so that they no longer have to be sidelined for long periods of time, Mangan explains: “We really have to manage the load.

“They all wear vests these days, so one thing that’s the sport science is telling you now is maybe it’s time for one of them not to start and maybe one of them will start. But they are experienced players. They know their bodies better than anyone and we are in constant contact with them. How do you feel, are you ready to move on?

“They won’t let the team down. The team spirit here is amazing. None of these players said they were ready when they weren’t. We have a great culture here and it’s something we talk about every day.”

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