Joey Barton’s response to boo boys as Bristol Rovers jeered at full-time whistle

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has apologised after the 1-0 defeat to Accrington Stanley at the Memorial Stadium.

The Gas suffered their third consecutive home defeat and are now winless in eight matches, including seven in the league.

Joe Pritchard’s goal for Stanley made for a second consecutive home defeat which keeps them in 21st but gives teams above them the opportunity to extend the gap over them.

A nervous atmosphere could be heard around the stadium for the majority of the match with a quietened atmosphere.

“It’s our job to stop them being quiet,” Barton said. “We have got to feed the fan base. It’s our job to get that energy in the stadium.

“We can’t expect the fans to lift us. It’s completely the wrong way of going about it.

“They pay their hard-earned wages to come and watch us.  It’s our job to entertain them and lift them off of their seats.

“I apologise to the Bristol Rovers fans, the Gasheads, we were nowhere near the levels, and as a group, we have got to be better.”

For the first time in a long period, fans were visually displeased with their side’s performance and let their frustrations be known.

Chants of ‘This is Embarrassing’ and ‘You’re nothing special, we lose every week’ could be heard from the Thatcher’s End, the most passionate stand in the ground.

Boos were heard after the full-time whistle sounded which hadn’t been heard around the ground for a considerable time.

The Mem had been a fortress in the second part of their League Two promotion campaign, but so far they have won just once in front of their home supporters.

The club’s lowly position at the 10-game mark has seen a change in the atmosphere amongst the fan base as the club battles through a period of adversity.

“I get people are disappointed because they have paid their hard-earned wages to come and watch us,” Barton admitted.

“We’ve not been good enough to win the game today.

“Did I think we were terrible and not pushing on? No, I think we lacked composure, a bit of quality, and a bit of confidence in certain departments. I don’t think they lacked for effort, they kept fighting until the end.”