Bristol Rovers striker James Daly believes the Gas shouldn’t get “too bogged down” after their 3-1 loss to high-flyers Hull City on Tuesday.
The former-Crystal Palace scholar has made an impressive start to the season, becoming a regular in the first-team and scoring three goals in his last four league games.
Daly scored after just one minute and 10 seconds to give Rovers the lead, before all three Hull substitutes scored in the second-half to snatch the points at the Mem.
Daly’s early strike was a result of excellent pressing and sparked an electrifying start to the match. The 20-year-old says persistence was key in the lead up to his goal.
“That’s the thing, you’ve just got to keep at it, sometimes it won’t happen but as long as you stay consistent with the pressing you’re going to get chances and their defenders are going to make errors," Daly said.
"We’ve got to keep doing it as a whole team collectively, because when we do it right no team are able to play through us.
“As a striker, scoring goals is my job at the end of the day. It was nice to get a goal but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get the win today.”
In recent matches, the 20-year-old has struck up a partnership with fellow forward Brandon Hanlan and insists their chemistry will only continue to get better the more the duo play together.
“I think we complement each other well, he’s a great worker and has got an unbelievable finish on him," Daly said.
“It’s all about reading each other’s runs and as games go on we learn our different movements and continue to build our partnership.”
Although the match ended in disappointing fashion for Rovers, Daly remains upbeat and recognises the quality of the opposition.
The striker continued: “The gaffer said to us after the game that we’re not too far off them quality-wise, it’s just a case of maintaining the work rate and being consistent because we have the belief to beat these sides.
“We can’t get too bogged down, we’ve got a big game Saturday so there’s a quick turnaround and we’ll hopefully go there and get another win.”
Since arriving at the Mem, Daly has been full of praise for manager Ben Garner, who was was with the 20-year-old at Palace and has placed a lot of trust in the young forward.
“He’s great," Daly said. "He’s helping my development massively and obviously knows what it takes to build younger players to the very top.
“Tactically as well, it kind of helps that he wants us to press from the front because it suits my game and hopefully I can just continue to get better under him.”
