Happy New Fears

SO my beloved Gas move into 2011 in the League One relegation zone while the likes of mighty Hartlepool and Exeter go charging up the table towards a play-off spot.
Many didn't see this coming when we started off the season full of hope and with the enthusiastic words of our former manager Paul Trollope and chairman Nick Higgs ringing in our ears.
To be fair, because of the nordic conditions we've suffered over the last few weeks we haven't really had the chance to improve our situation since Trolls departed and the cry went out for a new manager.
At the time we were told we would have to sit tight and wait for a new boss, while caretaker Darren Patterson guided us through the tricky Xmas fixture period.
Well, we haven't played one game since then, a situation which must be particularly frustrating for those of our players who WANT to play rather than spend an enforced long break with their feet up watching the telly.
But it leaves me thinking that this break in the action must have given the directors a chance to get their heads together, sift through the applications and interview suitable candidates.
It also means that we still have a substantial portion of our season still to go, plenty of time for a new man at the helm to get his feet under the table, consider the opportunities presented by the January transfer window, assess the current staff and set about planning our charge up the table.
After all, as far as I was aware this wasn't a trial period for Mr Patterson to prove his credentials for the post but just a spell for him to babysit the team until the right man was chosen.
So when WILL we see a new manager?
With tomorrow's resumption of hostilities at an in-form MK Dons, followed by a tough three pointer at home to our west country neighbours Plymouth, the decision can't come soon enough.
Sorry, Patto, and all that but we need someone in as soon as possible, and if you don't get the chance to forge your imprint on the team then that's just tough.
Let's face it, too. It wasn't all of Trolls making that we are in the position we currently find ourselves. And, if it was, what was Patto, our assistant boss, doing during the period we were losing 6-1 at Oxford, 4-0 at home to Southampton and 6-2 at Sheffield Wednesday. Cleaning the boots? Making the tea?
Our demise has been a collective responsibility and cannot JUST be put down to the manager.
So, however much Mr Patterson wishes to distance himself from the situation we find ourselves in, it just isn't possible.
He can talk all he wants of preaching a "more attacking style" - something which is bound to go down well with the fans - but surely when we've been conceding so often and have a goal difference sadly resembling an Australian cricket team's Fall of Wickets, it is at the back that we really need to concentrate.
I'm all for us charging up the field, all guns blazing, to try to outscore the opposition but it doesn't work that way.
We need an organiser, a fresh face and a new voice, to come in, look at what has gone wrong and create a team spirit and ethic to pull us through the tough times.
Seeing the same old face on the training ground - albeit with a more prominent role - isn't necessarily going to work the miracle that all Gas fans want to see in 2011.
Still, a new year starts tomorrow, and a new era for Bristol Rovers.
Let's hope it isn't just an extension to the annus horriblis that was 2010.