Early signs Inigo Calderon can succeed where Matt Taylor failed despite Stevenage loss | OneFootball

New Bristol Rovers Head Coach Inigo Calderon is already connecting with fans

Bristol Rovers began life under new head coach Iñigo Calderón with defeat against Stevenage at the Lamex Stadium on Sunday as the Gas continued a crucial Christmas block of fixtures in which a new leader was installed at the club.

Despite the loss, however, it would appear that the new man is already making strides where his predecessor couldn’t.

Much of the complaint against the former Bristol Rovers manager Matt Taylor was that he just couldn’t connect with the supporters.

Now, though the new boss seems to have already struck a chord with Gasheads and inspired a renewed togetherness, the Spaniard begins his reign with large swathes of the Bristol Rovers support, excited by his appointment and even seduced by his endearing qualities.

Tough task for Calderon building on connection amid Bristol Rovers concerns

Enthusiasm is high for Calderon, perhaps kick-started by his goal against Bristol City doing the rounds online in the days before his appointment. And the walkabout he conducted in front of the away end at Exeter City following the announcement - where Calderón posed for selfies and spoke with some supporters ahead of the game.

It's not exactly a criticism of Taylor, but it's hard to imagine such scenes during the time he was in-charge of Rovers. Maybe that's a recency bias, though, given how the first-half of this season has gone. Taylor produced a pretty passionate speech to fans after February's 3-2 win against Stevenage, but those scenes were different to Calderón's early interactions with supporters.

Keeping that connection going will be one of the new coach’s toughest tasks should fortunes not start to turn around for Rovers.

It would also be fair to say that sections of the Gas fan base are concerned with the summer recruitment, which is holding back some of the enthusiasm towards the club - although there is a sense that this squad could start to pick up under this coach.

There have been plenty of glimpses of the attacking prowess Rovers possess, with the likes of Shaq Forde showing signs of raw talent as well as Luke Thomas, who has been one of the few leading lights despite falling out of favour, and Promise Omochere starting to find the net.

Likewise, in defence, the Gas have – on occasions – looked a handy defensive unit.

If only they could display that more often.

Isaac Hutchinson speaks to the togetherness at Bristol Rovers

To the point of togetherness, Bristol Rovers club media asked Gas midfielder Isaac Hutchinson post-Stevenage whether he feels the club is together enough to push forward in 2025. Hutch replied: “Yeah, I think it’s really exciting with the way the new manager wants to play and the players we have at the club. We just need to be in the position where we can enjoy that a bit more, and the only way we’re going to do that is by picking up results.”

So the early signs are promising for the new head coach as supporters and players look forward with a measure of excitement to this new era in BS7.

However, those players will need to inspire more of a connection among currently weary supporters by putting out better performances than those seen of late – Gasheads won't be long in responding.

Former Gas manager Taylor, for whatever reason, found it increasingly challenging to strike his own connection with Gasheads, many of whom saw the former gaffer as passionless on the touchline and showing little interest in connecting with fans. While much of the criticism against Taylor may be unfair - Taylor's speech to fans post the 3-2 February win is perhaps an example of that - his inability to get Gasheads behind him played no small role in his ultimate downfall. Performances continued to underwhelm and supporter dissent only grew.

Any successful club needs a strong connection between its players, coaches and supporters, and new head coach Calderon appears to have hit the ground running on that front. His Bristol Rovers team, however, will need to display much more committed and cohesive performances - starting against Leyton Orient on New Year’s Day - in order to ensure that connection can grow.