Exactly what Matt Taylor said to Bristol Rovers supporters in passionate post-Stevenage footage | OneFootball

Bristol Rovers boss Matt Taylor gave an impassioned speech to the Gasheads after his side's midweek 3-2 away win against Stevenage.

The Gas picked up a huge three points on Tuesday night by beating Steve Evans' side away from home. Even though they sold the 2022/23 League One Player of the Season, Aaron Collins, to Bolton Wanderers near the end of the January transfer window, they have managed to maintain their form, and they're up to 10th in the league.

Rovers had a bit of a dip with some poor back-to-back losses against Fleetwood Town and Burton Albion, but last night's win set them straight. It looked like it could have turned sour, too, with Taylor's side trailing 2-0 inside the opening 24 minutes. However, Luke Thomas' goal just before the half-hour changed the game, with Chris Martin and Antony Evans striking within the space of five second-half minutes to complete a turnaround.

After the win, Taylor went over to speak directly to the fans, and he sent a strong message to them.

Matt Taylor: Bristol Rovers shirt is "weighing heavy"

The former Rotherham United manager went over to the away end at the Lamex Stadium to send this message to the travelling fans.

"Brilliant. We need you for as long as you can," said Taylor. "We need you for longer. They [the players] need you for longer. I told them to throw their shirts because it is weighing heavy on them. Trust me, the shirt is weighing heavy on them boys. They need you for longer."

Pros and cons to Matt Taylor's post-game comments

FLW's Bristol Rovers fan pundit Steve Hutson has said that he understands why the boss chose to say what he said after the game, but that the timing of it may have been a bit wrong.

"I think you've got to see it from both sides. Rovers were 2-0 down in 25 minutes last night, and they were barely getting a look in. It was only when [Luke] Thomas scored that Rovers really started to play.

"Off the back of two really bad defeats, the fans were expecting the worst. As fans, we've got to remember that the players are humans, and the language that we use isn't always going to be a motivating factor for them. They had a lot of expectation put on their shoulders at the start of the season, but they've just not quite been able to string it together.

"Taylor said last night that they were feeling the weight of the shirt, and, in some ways, I think that's a good thing. It means that they're feeling the passion of the supporters. As the saying goes, pressure makes diamonds, so it's about how the players respond to that pressure. Sometimes you've got to try and block out the noise and focus on you and your own team.

"I definitely understand where Taylor is coming from. Was it the right time to do it? Perhaps you could have thought that we were 2-0 down within 25 minutes and that's when fans were expecting the worst. But I think you've got to see it from both sides."

Matt Taylor's speech could have lasting effects

The Gas are in footballing no man's land at the moment. Even though they are 10th in the table, they are 12 points behind Oxford United, who occupy the last play-off spot, with 14 games to go. They hold the same gap to the relegation zone too.

So this message from Taylor may not be quite so relevant now, but it could be in the future.

Things like this can be taken one of two ways. Either fans will really love that their manager is engaging with them and trying to lift the mood of the fans to back the players; the reaction at the end of the video would probably lean more towards that end. Or fans can take it as 'well we're allowed to have our opinions on players and their performances', which is very understandable given how they've played in their previous two games, and in the early stages against Stevenage.

Taylor and his players will be hoping that fans really take his message on board, and, if they do, it could create a stronger bond between the fans and him, because he would certainly appreciate more support for his players.