'I'll give everything' - Matt Taylor's rallied cry ahead of Bristol Rovers' end of season push

Bristol Rovers boss Matt Taylor says that he "will give everything" as the Gas have just eight games to go until the end of the season.

Rovers have had a two week break from League One action due to the March internationals. "I will give everything I have possibly got until the last possible minute to each and every player until the point comes where they are no longer needed," said Taylor.

"My biggest battle with this group of players is their mindset. What they value, what they see in being successful and that will continue to be a wrestling match, not between me and them, but the whole culture of this football club, until we shift a few things around."

The 42-year-old has been rather critical of his team in the past few weeks as they have failed to score in each of their last three games, conceding eight times in the process. "I would love to sit down with a dozen fans and get them to write down their top three players of this season. It would be really interesting, because if they gave me their top three, and the next three and the next three after that, I think you would be less pushed to keep on filling those names into those numbers. I think the stand-outs are the goals of Chris Martin and the goals and assist of Antony Evans and then you are really searching for what’s next and that is a reflection on a lot of our performances this season," he added.

Although there is still a month to go until the end of the season, Gasheads are particularly interested to know which players will remain at the club next season, as their is an astronomical number of players that are out of contract this summer. "Everyone is still in the same situation as they were the day I walked into the job and when the season started," said Taylor. "Whether their contact is up at the end of the season, or they have got more time left on their contract, or whether they are here on loan, football doesn't look at what's next for them, football just looks at the next game and if performance levels aren't where they need to be, you'll get punished. So there's a bigger picture which I can't avoid and the players can’t avoid."

Rovers have some winnable games over the next few weeks as five of their remaining eight fixtures are against teams below them in the League One table. "The next game is Port Vale and then after that it will be Shrewsbury," said Taylor. "Going into the Lincoln game we unfortunately failed in those moments so what’s to come in terms of the turnover of players and recruitment of players and players getting released or moved on, will all come in the future, but every moment is an opportunity to just change what's next for yourself, as a player, as a person, as a manager or as a supporter I want players to realise that because we know in a situation we are where we are in terms of the middle of the table, people say there is not much to play for, I actually think it's the opposite."

Taylor has been able to do more work with the players on the training ground during the international break, but with limited numbers to international duty and injuries. "There is probably things I'd like to do more of, but our hands are tied a little bit in terms of the position we are in at the moment and everyone’s position in terms of people's futures so its just understanding that if players are going to represent the club in a game or in training, they do it with the right intent regardless of the situation, 1-0 down, 3-0 down, a substitute coming on, a substitute coming off, for me it’s all about intent, I live my life by intent, I just felt the Lincoln game didn’t show enough from us from certain individuals and I have spoken to them about it, but it’s a two-way investment and relationship."

The Gas were hammered 5-0 in their last match at the hands of the high-flying Lincoln City. "Personal pride is a big aspect of it," said Taylor. "We could just spend the next 8 games just sitting there watching, judging, having opinions like everyone does in football, or we could put ourselves forward and be on the pitch instead. It’s a performance game, there's not many that could say they performed where they needed to be in that game and it turned into what was a difficult week because there was so many positives from Fleetwood and we got beaten by the better team against Derby, but the way Saturday went left a poor feeling at the end."

Friday's hosts, Port Vale are fighting for their lives inside the League One relegation zone, and despite Rovers mid-table position, Taylor believes his side should need no more motivation to put in a solid display in Staffordshire. "Points, pride, performance. I would take performance before anything else to start with. The first-half, the first five minutes, the first 20 minutes of the game, I have said that time and time again this season. When we go away to Port Vale, I was at their game at Burton last weekend so I have an idea of what they are fighting for and moving towards and style in relation, to that and this weekend will provide some challenges, some difficult tests, because they are a physical. This is what our competition is, this is the market we live in, so I am looking for a little bit more in terms of what we can put out there and a fantastic opportunity to put some points on the board.

"It’s a big weekend for everyone, top or bottom of the league, or in the middle of the league like ourselves. We are lucky to be part of it so lets go at it, lets attack it and lets see where it takes us and hopefully I will be talking about a certain type of performance after the game."