NICE TO START WITH A WIN
Midfielder Craig Disley admitted that it was good to be playing again, and said that although he and his colleagues were a little bit rusty, last night's game at Weymouth was, hopefully, the start of what could be a good season for the club.
"It was good to get the first game out of the way," Craig told bristolrovers.co.uk "To be honest, it's quite a shock to the system when you get into a match situation for the first time following the summer break.
"I think the boys would be the first to admit that we were a little bit rusty, but it was a decent performance overall, and it's always nice to start with a win."
Twenty two of the squad played 45 minutes each at the Wessex Stadium, which, says Craig, is the sensible way of approaching the friendly fixtures.
"Personally, I think it's the best way to go. If you go straight in and play 90 minutes there's a possibility you'll do more damage than good, and I think everyone was happy to get 45 minutes under their belt as it gives us all something to build on."
Darryl Duffy, who scored Rovers first half goal, impressed Craig, who scored nine times himself last season.
"I think you can see how sharp Darryl Duffy is. He had a couple of chances before he scored and never looked as though he was going to miss the target when her was played in by Rickie Lambert for his first goal for the club.
"I think he and Rickie worked well together in the opening period, and that's encouraging for the future.
"Several of the young lads also got 45 minutes in the first team, if you like, and I think they all did really well. The signs are good and, hopefully, that means a good season ahead.
Going into last night's game, the players had come through a gruelling ten day period of intense training, so it was understandable that there were a few tired legs out on the pitch.
"There was a little bit tiredness as we've worked really hard and had a practice game on Tuesday, which meant that quite a few of the lads were still feeling stiff before the trip down to Weymouth.
"Still you know that's what's going to happen in pre season, as it's all about getting match fit and preparing for the new season. Come 9th August, I'm sure we will be firing on all cylinders and ready to go for what we hope will be a good season for us."
From now on, the games come thick and fast, with a trip to Blue Square Conference outfit Torquay on Saturday, followed by a tour to
"The Torquay game will be another tough test for us, and the tour should be good, and will be quite a different pre season tour to what most of us are used to. I think we will also face a different type of football as well. We are all looking forward to that and hopefully we will give a good account of ourselves over there.
