WELL, that was awful.

Even the normally ‘glass half full’ Gary Bowyer struggled to find any positives and the only smile to be had was that the man behind me had 0-0 instead of ‘no goalscorer’ and naively passed up £40 to sweeten the pill.

After months of being flagged up as a ‘happy clapper’ by some of my fellow Roverites, I found my hands were too busy covering my face to clap.

MORE TOP STORIES:

However I still pledge my allegiance to the manager and, although I shared the frustration in GB not introducing local lad Connor Mahoney for any one of a number of lacklustre players, I think sending the boy out on Saturday may have stunted his development.

It would have dragged him down to the level of apathy being shown on the pitch and led to him being part of a team that was rightly jeered off at half-time and almost assured of being booed off again at the end.

The feeling that some players were conserving their energies and fitness for the cup replay was hard to shake, even if only half the side fielded on Saturday will actually figure.

It is though intensely annoying when one of the few players who is actually ‘putting in a shift’ is the main scapegoat. Of course Chris Brown was on a loser from minute one.

Replacing the people’s favourite, yet to score a goal while his esteemed team-mate on the sidelines has 16 to his name and looking slightly reminiscent of a 1998 Kevin Davies, he huffed and puffed but nothing fell.

Yet earlier in the week Gestede appeared to consider his job done after a cracking early goal and faded quicker than the foam spray.

Yes, it was 2-2 at the time and we needed a goal and for all his lethargy, Rudy is a proven goalscorer.

But Bowyer is paid to make decisions and though we take it as our due when he gets them correct - for instance replacing Gestede with Varney in the Leeds game which won us the match, dropping Rhodes for King in the Stoke game - we are quick to attack when it turns out incorrect.

Twitter was alight with 20 or so fans outraged at the decision.

I daresay the comments section on the paper’s website was also deluged with the usual angry fans demanding satisfaction.

But for all the negativity – and after Saturday’s shocker every fan is entitled to ask questions – speaking to a broad section of fans directly after games, when emotions are running high, most accept that we are where we are as a club and are more frustrated that we now appear to play better away from home. Now, I wonder why that is?

Sadly, the loudest voices are always those that criticise and not lend their volume to support.

The majority of fans are behind the team and the manager, but Saturday must be a one-off aberration and quickly put behind us.