Questions Darell Clarke and Bristol Rovers must address before League Two season

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The countdown is on. With just days remaining before Bristol Rovers kick off their League Two campaign at home to Harrogate Town, Darrell Clarke’s side have one final friendly to fine-tune their preparations.   Squad depth is another concern. Seventeen players have departed since last season, and only seven have arrived, leaving the Gas with 22 players, which is short of the mark for Clarke’s ambitions.

Transcript

00:00The countdown is on with just days remaining

00:05before Bristol Rovers kick off their League Two campaign

00:08at home to Harrogate Town.

00:10Daryl Clark's side have one final friendly

00:12to fine-tune their preparations.

00:15Pre-season has flown by, but the purpose is clear,

00:18building fitness and sharpness to form,

00:20ideally against tougher opposition later in the schedule.

00:24That's why two championship opponents were lined up

00:26to close the warm-up matches.

00:29With Coventry City on Wednesday.

00:33The 2-0 defeat was hardly unexpected.

00:37Coventry dominated the ball while Rovers had to rely on shape,

00:40focus and defensive grit.

00:42For over an hour, they did just that with Luke Southward

00:45made several good saves and defender Connor Taylor,

00:48Alfie Kilgore and Taylor Moore held firm.

00:52A known goal from Macaulay Southam Hales

00:54and a tidy finish from Kane Kelser Hayden

00:57eventually undid the resistance.

00:59But there were still positives.

01:03Yet questions persist.

01:05The biggest among them is the need for firepower.

01:08Rovers are short up front with Promise Amache

01:10and Rul Soutoury requiring careful fitness management.

01:15Amache in particular is still building back from injury.

01:18And while Soutour completed 90 minutes against Coventry,

01:22neither striker is at full sharpness.

01:24A third senior form was that is needed with 17-year-old Oli Dewsbury,

01:28the only other recognised option.

01:30But Clark also emphasised the importance of building up those

01:33already in the building.

01:34Squad depth is another concern as 17 players departed last season

01:41and only seven arriving with the Gas now having 22 players,

01:45including some try lists.

01:47Still, Clark appears to have settled on the spine of his team.

01:51Southward, Taylor, Kilgore, Conte and Amache-Sourou pairing from the core.

01:56With a few additions and another 90-minute run-out to come,

02:00Rovers are edging closer to readiness.

02:03The opening day will arrive quickly.

02:05Whether it's perfect or not, this group has been built with purpose

02:08and that matters more than pre-season results ever could.

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