Rotherham United assistant Steve Agnew addresses Alex Bruce red card during loss to Steve Evans' Bristol Rovers
Rotherham United assistant Steve Agnew spoke after the Millers were beaten by Bristol Rovers
Rotherham United assistant Steve Agnew revealed head coach Alex Bruce was “disappointed” after being sent off in his side’s 1-0 defeat to Bristol Rovers.
Bruce was shown red after a stoppage-time melee involving ex-Millers coach Paul Raynor, who now assists former Rotherham boss Steve Evans at the Memorial Stadium.
Agnew took on post-match media duties with Bruce unable to and was quizzed about the situation.
Steve Agnew on Alex Bruce’s red card
He said: “Listen, we want the ball in quick and they’re trying to stop it and run the clock down…We’ve all been there, so I fully understand what’s gone on.
“Alex has tried to get the ball and their boy has kicked it out of his hand. If somebody kicked you on the hand quite violently, what would you do?
“He’s disappointed, but it’s just the qualities that Alex has: he wants to win and his team over the course of the season will reflect that.”
Rotherham United’s performance
Regarding the game, which Bristol Rovers won via a first-half goal from Tommy Leigh, Agnew said: “We knew it was going to be a really difficult game with Bristol Rovers top of the league.
“They’re a direct and physical team and they do it well and we had to stand up to that battle – and I thought for large parts of the game we did that.
“The chance at the end when we hit the bar… if that had gone in then the boys would have deserved that.”
Steve Evans’ verdict
Evans felt Bristol Rovers were worthy winners against his old employers - even if the Gas were not at their best.
He said: “We’ve deservedly won but we weren’t at our best today. We’ve been at our best for the last three games but maybe there’s a bit of fatigue in there because of the run they’ve been on.
“We’ve equalled a club record of 10 home [league] wins, stretching back to Grimsby last season, which is incredible. The lads are capable of stepping up and delivering so much more.
“My only disappointment was that we didn’t capitalise on two or three good chances to go two up. That would have made it a lot easier in the second half.”