‘He was atrocious’ – EFL boss blasts his own player and is glad he’s banned for two games

Bristol Rovers manager Steve Evans brutally tore into one of his own players for his ‘atrocious’ performance in Saturday’s defeat at Cambridge.

Rovers fell to their 20th league defeat of the season in the 3-1 defeat at the Abbey Stadium, leaving them in danger of dropping out of the Football League.

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Ben Knight broke the deadlock for Cambridge before Joe Quigley levelled from the penalty spot on the stroke of half time.

But promotion hopefuls Cambridge showed their superiority when Knight netted his second of the afternoon before Kelland Watts made it three late on.

Public condemnation

A tough afternoon was made even more difficult for Rovers left-back Jack Sparkes who was singled out for criticism from Evans.

The 25-year-old picked up his tenth yellow card in Saturday’s defeat meaning he will miss Tuesday’s clash at Oldham on Tuesday.

But according to Evans, the full-back wouldn’t have played anyway due to his ‘atrocious’ showing at Cambridge.

“He deserves to go. He was atrocious today, anyway,” a frustrated Evans explained.

“He wouldn’t have played at Oldham. So, there we go. So he’s out for Tuesday, doesn’t matter to me, because he wouldn’t have played anyway. He was atrocious.

“Defensively, we were poor today, the whole back five were poor.

“Yusuf [Akhamrich] has many plaudits and Jack Sparkes, too, but they didn’t help the middle three, who were having a very difficult afternoon by their own standards and their own performance levels.”

Evans conceded his side were second best against Cambridge who sit second in League Two, four-points adrift of leaders Bromley.

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“Yeah, beaten by the better side. Comfortably beaten. We didn’t help ourselves enough, he added.

“The performance looked a little bit disjointed, a little bit nervy.

“Cambridge are a top three side, aren’t they? And they’re a good side, and they’re probably playing with a lot of confidence, particularly here at the Abbey.

“It is always a tough place to come.”

Rovers sit 21st in League Two with 27 points from 31 games.

They remain five points above the relegation zone with 15 games left to play.