Bristol Rovers missed out on a chance to pull away from the relegation zone last night as they were defeated 1-0 by fellow lowly side Swindon Town at the Memorial Stadium.

Joey Barton's appointment hasn't really had the lifting impact that it was expected to have following the replacement of Paul Tisdale.

The former Fleetwood boss has picked up just seven points out of a possible 27 and last night's failure to defeat Swindon meant that the Gas dropped into League One's bottom four, with Northampton Town climbing above them following their victory over Oxford United.

In a match last night which neither side dominated, the visitors grabbed the winner on 71 minutes as Scott Twine's free-kick deflected through into the path of Jack Payne, who fired the ball home with his left foot in what ended up being the only goal.

It has left fans asking serious questions of Barton and the team, who will get relegated if the current performances persist and they need a massive improvement in the coming weeks if they are to survive.

Barton spoke about the club having a lot of problems post-match and that the fans deserve better, and it's left some fans feeling sorry for Barton for what he has had to inherit.