Owen Bailey felt Rovers showed a different side of their game in a multi-faceted performance at Swindon Town.
Rovers ran out 2-1 winners at the County Ground as they held on for the victory after racing into a two goal lead before the hosts cut the deficit early in the second half.
And Bailey said Rovers could take plenty of heart from the manner in which they did not let the pressure impact them as they sought to keep Swindon at bay.
“We wanted to come out in the second half and go for the jugular,” Bailey said. “That didn’t happen and they scored the goal so early. That took the wind out of us a bit.
“But we had to show a different side to our game. We really dug in and we came away with the three points which was massive.
“A number of times this season we’ve come away with nothing, or just a point, in those circumstances and been really disappointed.
“To grind it out and win the game was great and really showed that different side to us.
“We had the bit between our teeth and we made sure it wasn’t going to happen to us again.
“Looking back over the season, it’s why we are where we are. But if we carry on doing what we’ve done recently and grind out results, we’ll only go the right way.”
Bailey believes it is no coincidence that the improving health of the Rovers squad has left them more capable of meeting different challenges on the pitch.
“The players that we’ve got, there’s a real mix and we have so many players available now,” he said.
“We’ve had players missing out of this one for whatever reason but we’ve got different players than can do different things. Not everyone plays in a certain way.
“We started well, got in front and then controlled it. In the second half we had to put the tin hats on, win headers, defend well and I think we did that.
“We’ve mixed it up and I’ve been pleased with how we’ve dealt with it.”
