New Rovers manager Dave Penney spoke to BBC Radio Bristol and his club's official website on Thursday afternoon ahead of his side's long trip up to Cumbria for their League One clash against Carlisle, Penney bemoaning the recent wet weather in the South-West of the country :
Dave Penney
" We have just been out to look at the surface and it is pretty waterlogged after the rain we had. Obviously we had an FA Youth Cup game called off on Wednesday night because of the water and today it looks really wet. So, we are hoping we can get out on some kind of an area and I was really hoping to have a good day of training and set-pieces today and work on some sessions and get across a few ideas that I want to carry on from Tuesday night. So, I will be disappointed if we can't get out there.
" Everybody seems to have come through from Tuesday, we are just waiting on Byron (Anthony), he is going to train today, he was ill and he had food poisoning so there is no way he could have played on Tuesday. But, we are hoping he can make the trip up to Carlisle with us, probably at best he will be on the bench because he will probably still be weak, but we are hoping he can be involved at some stage.
" James Tunnicliffe has come in and obviously hasn't been playing for some reason, but a fresh start for everybody, I have said that to the players. Everybody should be desperate to show me what they can do, and I am sure Byron is desperate to get out in training and show me what he can do and impress.
" But, James came in and did well, he has got a long throw as a weapon as well which is ideal, every manager would take one of those in the building if he could because he can be a real threat, as we have seen with Stoke as well. Sometimes you can cancel each other out and maybe you can nick a set-play from a long throw or a free-kick or a corner or whatever. So, they are important aspects as well but he is a good size, he is a presence as well and I am sure the more games he plays the better he will get. "
" It has been really frustrating trying to get new players in, we have nearly got a couple in but people above them in the pecking order at their football clubs have gone down ill or been injured. So, they have had to stay in their clubs and one has decided to go elsewhere which is a bit disappointing. But, keep making the phone calls, but more importantly we have got to work with these players this afternoon and get them right and get my ideas across.
" I think people put two and two together about signing Pawel Abbott, obviously I had Pawel at Darlington and then I took him to Oldham. I know he is not playing at Charlton but he is not really that much of a targetman, he likes to play with a bigger targetman, somebody to take the weight off him.
" So, I haven't spoken to Pawel and I haven't spoken to Charlton or his representatives. They are in the process of changing their manager as well so I am sure they won't want to let players out. So, I have not even made the call but I fully appreciate that people are going to put two and two together and try to get some names.
" Trying to get an assistant manager in has not been very fruitful either, it is all bad news I think at this moment in time. We just didn't feel that we were sitting right with him location-wise, didn't feel that he could put the commitment in that I wanted. We need somebody here full-time and I didn't feel I would get that with the person who wasn't committed to coming down here full stop like I am going to do, it would have been diluted what he was going to bring to the football club.
" So, we decided to put that on hold for the moment and we will look elsewhere. I don't think it is fair to name him, I won't ever flag players up that we are trying to sign just incase we don't, and I feel that is the same with coaches as well. But, whatever I do we get it done and dusted and signed before we let people know. Darren Patterson would have been with me anyway on Saturday no matter what, he has got great experience and he knows the players better than I do. "
" Most of the things have been set up already for this week in terms of travelling and training, so we are going to run with that at this moment in time. Obviously, I will tinker with the team now and get my formation and my philosophies across. But, Darren is great, he has got a great work ethic, I have known him from before as well, so I haven't got a problem with Darren.
" 4-4-2 seems to suit us better, go back to basics, most players know 4-4-2 and it is pretty uncomplicated. You can get your shape back quicker and people should know their jobs. It is nice to have a different system in your locker - there is nothing wrong with 4-3-3 if you can pass it, but 4-4-2 is uncomplicated. I will play different formations at different times, but 75-85% of the time I do like to play 4-4-2.
" I spoke to Ian Baraclough (Scunthorpe manager) today, just a general chat but he certainly never mentioned Will Hoskins or a bid for him. If anybody does phone me I will tell them that I don't want to lose him, in my eyes he is not for sale and hopefully that can continue until February 1st.
" Location-wise it is a tough test to get up to Carlisle, they started the season ever so well and they were right up there as well, but have obviously dropped off now. But, they have quietly got some good players up there and they have quietly got a victory in them. But, I have usually enjoyed going up there and have got some decent results up there, so we are looking forward to going up there.
" We're not adrift by any stretch of the imagination but the quicker we can get three points the better. We need to keep clean sheets, I've just been looking at the DVD of goals against and it's not pretty viewing. We can score goals by the looks of it, we look good going forward, we've got four in the last two games, but we need to get back to basics and stop conceding goals. "