In December, Bristol Rovers pulled the plug on their manager Matt Taylor, after just one year in charge and a 31 per cent win record.
The ex-Rotherham United boss did not make the impact that was expected of him by Gas fans, and instead, the hierarchy at the Memorial Stadium turned to an unproven Spaniard in the form of Inigo Calderon to try and turn around their 2024-25 League One season.
Most known for his six-year stint with Brighton & Hove Albion as a right-back, Calderon was managing the Seagulls’ under-18’s side before he was approached by Rovers, but he is finding life tough in his first job in senior management.
Bristol Rovers told to have no regrets for now over Inigo Calderon hire
So far, Calderon has managed 20 league matches for Rovers, picking up six wins in that time, but having been 19th in the standings upon his appointment, the 43-year-old now sees his side a spot lower in the League One table.
With just five matches to go of the season, and just three points above the drop zone, Rovers are not safe by any stretch of the imagination, and with the likes of Wrexham, Reading and Blackpool to play, it could go down to the wire.
Despite recent poor form though, having lost five matches on the spin, scoring just twice and conceding 11 times, Bristol Rovers owner Hussain Al-Saeed should not regret the hiring of Calderon just yet, according to Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman, who spoke exclusively to Football League World.
“I don’t think you can say at this stage that a club would regret a decision to appoint a new manager,” Goodman told FLW.
“Yes they’re out of form, yes there are those below them that are in better form and are closing the gap, but it’s still in their own hands.
“They have a huge game against Exeter City at the weekend, and you do fear if they lose that, they’re going to be in big, big trouble.
| Current League One 2024-25 Table – As Of April 10, 2025 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | |
| 17. Mansfield Town | 41 | 13 | 8 | 20 | -10 | 47 |
| 18. Wigan Athletic | 40 | 11 | 13 | 16 | -4 | 46 |
| 19. Northampton Town | 41 | 11 | 13 | 17 | -17 | 46 |
| 20. BRISTOL ROVERS | 41 | 12 | 6 | 23 | -25 | 42 |
| 21. Burton Albion | 40 | 9 | 12 | 19 | -18 | 39 |
| 22. Crawley Town | 41 | 9 | 9 | 23 | -30 | 36 |
| 23. Cambridge United | 41 | 8 | 11 | 22 | -25 | 35 |
| 24. Shrewsbury Town | 41 | 7 | 8 | 26 | -34 | 29 |
“Exeter are out of form, one win in their last six or seven games, so I think we’ll only really know the answer to that question at the end of the season.
“If they survive then I don’t think they’ll regret the decision, but obviously if they go down, I do think the owners may reflect and perhaps wish they’d gone for a more experienced head coach.”
There will be some nervous Bristol Rovers faces as the final League One run-in starts
When the announcement came last November that Hussain Al-Saaed was acquiring the rest of Bristol Rovers, he probably did not expect the club to potentially be dropping into League Two.
Rovers though have not been able to pick up any momentum whatsoever, both under previous manager Taylor and now Calderon, whose first foray into senior management isn’t proving to be very easy.
Speaking exclusively with FLW, Lee Hendrie has been discussing whether a move to Burnley would be a good one for Rovers youngster Kofi Shaw.
There’s still a chance that Calderon will be able to keep Rovers in the division for next season, and if he does, he will get the chance to model the squad how he sees fit in his first summer at the club, but there will be plenty of nerves over relegation and what that may mean for the Spaniard’s job.
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