Facing in-form Mansfield Town on Saturday is a chance for Bristol Rovers to regain momentum and "put right the disappointment of Tuesday night", Joey Barton believes.
The Pirates' six-game unbeaten run was ended by relegation-threatened Oldham Athletic in midweek and next up on the slate are the surging Stags, who have climbed from the bottom third of the table to enter the running for League Two's automatic promotion places in recent weeks and months.
Rovers' confidence may have been dented by Tuesday's poor performance, but Barton is relishing the challenge to take on the form side in the fourth tier, with the Gas in need of points to boost their bid for the play-offs.
The Rovers boss revealed Mansfield, who have invested strongly in recent seasons in hope of breaking into League One, beat the Gas to the signatures of several players in the summer transfer window.
But after beating Rovers with a stoppage-time penalty on the opening day, the Stags endured a terrible run and were in the relegation zone in late October.
Barton, however, is not surprised Stags boss Nigel Clough has been able to mastermind a meteoric rise back into contention at the right end of the standings.
"Mansfield are a good side, you don’t need me to tell you that," Barton said. "The form table and league table attests to that.
"I felt when we went there, we were unlucky not to get a point and if we had got a point there I knew it would be a tricky place to go based on the fact they are one of the few sides that pay more money than us.
"They blew us out of the water for a few players. We’re one of the big hitters in the division, but so are Mansfield.
"They have built a good side. They fact they took young Matty Longstaff on loan from Newcastle shows the quality they are able to recruit. Cloughie, as he does, has built another good side, a side capable of getting out of the division.
"A four-diamond-two, which has been really effective for them. I think it’s quite set in stone what they’ll do. They won’t change for us and they won’t change if they played Man City probably because they’re on such a good run of form.
"But it’s a good tie, it’s a great tie in the division. It’s an opportunity for us to grab momentum, it’s an opportunity to put right the disappointment of Tuesday night and, even more so, it’s an opportunity to get back in front of, hopefully, another good crowd at the Mem and give another good performance."
Tuesday's defeat dropped Rovers to 14th place, 11 points adrift of fifth-placed Mansfield.
Rovers played in front of their home biggest crowd of the season against Walsall last month, and Barton believes the roaring atmosphere in BS7 could prove invaluable in their remaining 10 home games.
"That’s where our passionate fanbase can be a massive benefit and boost for us," he said.
"We’ve got to turn up and perform and work hard and keep feeding the crowd. You’ve seen from my programme notes just how important I feel the crowd at the Mem could be.
"The lads are seeing it now based on the away followings we’ve had and the support they get in and around the city. We had about 7,500 home fans for the last fixture and I think they know there are good times ahead for the club.
"It’s not going to be straightforward, we’re not just going to be winning every single week five, six and seven-nil, because football isn’t like that. You’re going to have good, bad and indifferent days, but I do think the fanbase knows that everybody here deeply cares about helping the football club get better.
"The lads have fed off certainly in recent times. I think it’s grown belief and the amount of late goals we’ve scored."
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