It was said as a slight aside, but it’s also illustrative of the slightly unique position the Bristol Rovers defence finds itself in. At 24, and with 72 appearances in League One, Alfie Kilgour is the most experienced centre-back at the club, and by some distance.
Kilgour is four starts into his comeback from a long-standing knee problem that wrecked his participation in Rovers’ promotion campaign, reducing the defender to just 14 sporadic appearances as he underwent two operations that he admits created not just intense physical challenges but also quite profound mental ones.
Now back among the first-team squad on a regular basis, as opposed to an increasing association with the medical staff, Kilgour is trying to play his way back into form, match fitness and familiarity in a new central defensive unit.
Alongside Kilgour is fellow Gas academy product Luca Hoole, 20, learning on the job in a new position, James Connolly, who is still only 20 and playing in League One for the first time, ditto for Bobby Thomas at 21, and while Lewis Gibson, at 22, has greater "experience" than that trio following loan stints at Fleetwood Town and Reading, the word is still doing some considerable heavy lifting.
Full-back Lewis Gordon is deputising in the middle, fresh out of the Brentford academy at 21, and injured James Gibbons could come into the equation when he returns but fundamentally those are the centre-back options available to Joey Barton, notwithstanding any more Glenn Whelan experiments back there.
Bringing that all together would be a challenge in itself, but when Kilgour’s injury issues, plus those suffered by Connolly and Gibson at the start of the season are factored in, it makes it even more complex to solve.
Chemistry is key back there. Unlike in the final third where a moment of individuality can spark the team, defence is all about the collective and the hive mind - it takes time to develop, and reliability is only fostered from consistency in selection, something that hasn’t been afforded to anybody in these first two months.
It’s by no means an excuse, and nobody at Rovers is willing to say as such, but the goal conceded against Accrington Stanley could be seen as evidence of such as Rovers weren’t fully switched on at a short-corner routine, to which Sean McConville twisted and turned to the byline and crossed for Joe Pritchard to score with the Gas defence - Kilgour included - flat-footed.
“I’m pretty sure it’s been a change every game, but I’ve been with Hooley and Beefy all last year,” Kilgour said. “Bobby has come in and been absolutely brilliant.
“I’m 24 and I’m the oldest player and played the most games. As a centre-back you don’t really get to your prime until you’re 28 so always learning, always trying to help each other. Luca, as well, we’re always trying to do our best.
“Frustrated, that would probably be the word but the main thing is the lads are very much... (we know) we have to stick together,” added Kilgour with relation to the Accrington defeat. “We had a great week of training so it’s very much a head-scratcher, but stick together, keep doing the hard yards on the training pitch, keep getting after each other in training and working hard and hopefully it’ll turn for us.
“It was a switch-off from everyone, so it’s on us, we’ve got to be better. We work hard on set-pieces and we take real pride in not conceding set-pieces so we have to evaluate and see where we went wrong.”
Kilgour’s enduring presence at the club means he’s well-placed to preach the lessons learned from last season whereby the Gas opened up their first 10 games with a points haul of 10.
The team developed in real time with a very clear progression as the season elapsed and players became more familiar with League Two and the demands and desires of their manager.
But the main thing for Kilgour that while all those outside of the first-team group were beginning to lose their heads, they maintained focus, a sense of togetherness and trust in the process.
“We were in the same position last year and if you keep doing the right things, eventually it’s got to turn,” Kilgour added. “We can take experience from last year and the main thing was we stuck together and kept our principles.
“As a player sometimes you can not change anything and you end up winning every week. It’s a strange one, but like the gaffer we have to keep doing the bits on the training pitch and not let a lack of confidence creep in.”
Now in his fourth season as a senior professional for the club he joined when he was just eight, it’s a huge nine months for the Bath-born defender who’s out of contract at the end of the campaign and faces all the uncertainty that comes with that.
After so many injury issues, that devil never fully leaves a player’s shoulder and another serious absence would have a profound impact on his ability to extend his stay at his boyhood club. That’s at a basic level, beyond simply stating fit for 40+ games, Kilgour also needs to prove his attributes are suited to a Joey Barton team in League One having first been thrown into the environment by Graham Coughlan during the 2019/20 season.
“It was nice to be back out there and doing my best for the shirt,” he added. “Obviously off the back of difficult injuries, so I’m finally over the hill with that. It’s a big year, I’m doing everything I can on the training pitch and when I get the opportunity.
“I will be out of a job, basically, come June 1 so I’m working hard and we’ll see what happens. There’s no other club I’d rather play for. I’m settled here and I want to do everything for Bristol Rovers.”
Like the team itself, the more games Kilgour plays, the better he’ll get as his confidence, concentration, awareness and understanding builds. And although there are bigger star names in the side now, his own progress could be symbolic of how Rovers perform in 2022/23.
He is, to slightly unfairly simplify his game - solid; strong in the tackle, dominant in the air with an old-school presence at the back. Qualities Rovers could ideally do with as they try to build new foundations in League One.
In accordance with his manager, Kilgour is in no doubt Rovers have not only the talent and ability to experience a successful campaign, but the make-up of the dressing room and the personalities present safeguard that theory.
“It goes to show when you’re starting week in, week out and you can find your rhythm and things click into place, you can gain confidence and things seem to become a lot easier,” he said.
“I had a difficult time last session with knee injuries, and kept breaking down and swelling up. Having to have a second operation, it was tough physically on my body and mentally took a real toll but thankfully, touch wood, I’m off the back of that and over the hill, so I’m feeling fitter than ever so it’d be nice to get a run of games and build relationships.
“We’ve got the tools in terms of on the pitch on a Saturday but off the pitch we’ve got the characters, the right mentality, the belief; you can’t compare the last time we were in the league to this year in terms of the group of lads we’ve got (now). The winning mentality and the characters are polar opposite so I’m fully confident we’ll be absolutely fine.”
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
READ NEXT:
