Within the space of four days, it seems as though optimism created following back-to-back victories has been vapourised after Bristol Rovers suffered two 2-0 defeats away from home, the latest a loss to Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

Realistically, a game against the play-off pushing Addicks away from home isn’t going to define Rovers’ season as they continue to scrap in the relegation battle. However, the familiarity of the performance against countless others so far this season is one of the factors towards why the situation is so concerning.

Start okay, concede the first shot on target, crumble, start to look better but struggle for quality end product. Rinse and repeat. We’re now heading into February and bad habits still haven’t been broken.

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Mentality is certainly something that has to be questioned when the response to going behind has been so poor this year and the nature of some of the goals conceded. It is true that first goals in this division are like gold dust but four points collected all season from losing positions is desperate.

Matt Taylor warned in what ended up being his final interview as manager at the club that he felt that another coach would also struggle with this group of players. It’s still very early into the Inigo Calderon era but perhaps he was right. They've shown that they've got the quality to be just fine but it's the inconsistency of strong displays and consistency of mediocre ones that is still holding this group back with less than 20 league games left to play.

The nature of the loss is what’s most concerning at this stage of the season and reinforces the fact that from now and May, it’s just about survival after a torrid run of just seven points picked up from the last possible 33.

With all that considered, here are some of the stand out talking points after a way too familiar evening…

First goals maintain their weight in gold

Matt Taylor was known to frequently detail the importance of first goals in League One and he wasn’t wrong with it still playing a significant role in Bristol Rovers’ chances of picking up a result.

Just four points have been picked up from losing positions, the victory at Burton Albion in October and the draw against Wrexham in December. That in itself is a concern but the rarity of occasions where Rovers have gone behind and managed to score the next goal is most worrying.

The Gas have conceded the first goal in 15 of their 27 League One games this season and have managed to equalise just four times, losing to Barnsley and Leyton Orient on top of the Burton win and Wrexham draw.

Meanwhile, in the 10 games in which they’ve scored the first goal, Rovers have gone on to win seven times, draw once and lose just twice.

They are once again proving to be absolute gold dust in games that involve the Gas which leads nicely on to the next point as to why that might be.

Mentality once again questioned

Why is it that Bristol Rovers are having such a tough time getting themselves back into games after going behind while also doing well to hold onto their leads once they have them? Quality will naturally be the first proposed reason but there’s got to be a mental element to it too.

As soon as Charlton scored, Rovers looked resigned to defeat. Josh Griffiths was called upon to make some big saves in order to keep the score down at 1-0 after Matty Godden’s opener before Josh Edwards drilled a good finish in for number two.

Although they had failed to create anything, the Gas had actually been the better side of the opening 12 minutes before conceding. However, as was the case at Wigan three days earlier, shipping the first goal that early while also away from home just gave them an insurmountable mountain to climb.

Inexperience will certainly be a factor but how straightforward it has been for opponents to beat Rovers in too many games this season has been one of the major frustrations.

When asked post-match whether that’s a mental issue, Inigo Calderon said: “ When you are in that situation down the table, it's a different sport.

“The way you feel, the way you sleep, the way you have relationships with everybody. It's a different sport and it's not an easy one to do because you don't enjoy the job that much. That should be the best job in the world but it's not that good because you obviously don't want to lose and you don't want to concede goals.

“That's why I say it's going to be a mental thing to have that strength in the end because it's not going to be easy and that's, as I say, because usually when you are down there, everything is going against you. So make sure you have to make sure that we are together and stronger.”

Creativity limited despite calls for a striker

If you asked every Bristol Rovers fan if they could add to one position which would it be, most would say a striker.

It’s been a constant conversation topic amongst supporters this window, some of whom felt it was a need regardless of Promise Omochere’s long-term injury. However, Tuesday night’s issues in front of goal weren’t down to the quality of the strikers, it was the severe lack of creativity.

On a night where Rovers dominated possession again, they actually produced some appealing build-up in spells but once they entered a 25-yard radius of the opposition goal, they seemed to slam the breaks or fail to make the right choice.

Chris Martin played the full 90 minutes but didn’t get a sniff of a chance and you could see the striker, rightly, getting visibly frustrated as the game went on with service to him non-existent.

Set-pieces poor again, crosses going way over players’ heads. Sure, another goalscorer would be great but there’s not point if they’re not going to get chances to put away.

Results elsewhere emphasise severity of situation

What added insult to injury on an already tough night was some of the results elsewhere in the relegation battle as Peterborough, Crawley and Burton all picked up wins, slashing Bristol Rovers’ advantage over the bottom four to just four points.

Even more concerningly, Crawley still boast a game in hand while being four points behind the Gas.

Still, Rovers haven’t ended a matchweek in the relegation zone this season and thus still have the luxury of their fate being in their own hands, although at this stage of the season everyone does really.

But if it wasn’t realised before just how crucial the upcoming five weeks of fixtures is, it will be now. Home games against Peterborough (18th) and Burton (21st) alongside trips to Northampton Town (20th) and Shrewsbury Town (24th) between now and March 4, with other games against Stockport, Wycombe and Rotherham in there too, is shaping up to be a season-defining period.

It’s still very much in the Gas’ hands and that run offers the opportunity to create some comfortable breathing space. It also could see them plummet into the drop zone. Sunday’s game against Peterborough is colossal.

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