BRISTOL Rovers boss Ben Garner was left ‘disappointed and angry’ following his side’s 3-1 defeat at Southend United.

The Pirates have suffered a slump in form since former Shrimpers defender Graham Coughlan opted to quit the club in December.

And Garner was left fuming following Rovers’ late setback which means they have now triumphed just once in their last 18 games.

“I’m very disappointed and angry,” Garner told the club's official website.

“Last week was bad and we spoke about a reaction in the week.

“They said all the right things but they haven’t shown the right things.

“There are a number of those players playing for their futures and it just wasn’t good enough.

“There will be changes moving forward.”

Rovers have slipped to 15th in the League One standings and Garner was keen to say sorry to the travelling supporters.

“There are fans coming to watch us and they work ever so hard all week,” said Garner.

“They expect to see that from us on a Saturday as a bare minimum.

“I apologise because ultimately it rests with me but all I can promise is that this will change moving forwards.

“It’s not acceptable.”

And Garner - who has Blues legend Kevin Maher as his first team coach - felt Rovers played with too much fear, even after drawing back level at the start of the second half “We played with fear and we weren’t positive in what we were doing,” said Garner.

“We didn’t do the basics well enough again. We reacted well after half-time to get the goal but then we took a backwards step again. The group is in a bad run and I know confidence is short but there are no excuses. We have to stand up and be counted.”

But Garner’s gripes did not stop there.

“Mistakes knock us too much,” said the 39-year-old.

“We should have gone 1-0 up, we missed a really good chance then we make a mistake and they score which knocks us. We get the equaliser but then they score and it knocks us. We have to be stronger mentally and stand up to things more.”