'Across the team we were just not good enough' - Frustrated James Coppinger questions motivation in Doncaster Rovers side after Bristol Rovers defeat

Rovers saw their winless run stretch to seven matches as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat against a Bristol Rovers side that had lost their previous five.

Coppinger was thoroughly frustrated after the game and said it is time the players took responsibility for their actions on the pitch.

“We need to change individually,” he said. "We need to take ownership of what we’re doing on the pitch.

“You can speak about the manager, formations but ultimately it’s down to how hard you want to work, how motivated you are to get to the next level.

“For me, you look on the pitch and you cannot see it.

“It’s just not good enough, individually or collectively.

“We got off to a good start, got the goal and then we stopped doing what we’d been doing to that point.

“It’s just frustration. With ten games to go we’re in such a fantastic position, albeit not on the back of brilliant form.

“To come away with a defeat is tough to take.”

Rovers started the game well and took the lead on 14 minutes through Coppinger’s fine strike but then were outfought by their battling hosts, who secured the win with a double from Luke McCormick.

“I think we’re naive,” Coppinger said. “You know what to expect from teams managed by Joey Barton - Fleetwood were exactly the same.

“We went to Gillingham, the team that probably do it the most in this division and we’ve matched them and battled with them.

“This was a chalk and cheese performance compared to that.

“I know it’s a different way of playing but it’s the exact same basic things.

“Individually, we have to take responsibility, we have to look at ourselves first and foremost and do better.

“I don’t have to say how far we are off it because you can see from performances and results.

“Bar a couple here and there, we were just not good enough as individuals.

“You look across the team and we were absolutely miles off it.”

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