Ricky Martin: Bristol Rovers director of football says club 'underperforming' to their budget

Bristol Rovers are "underperforming" against their squad budget, says director of football Ricky Martin.

The Gas are 19th in the table, six points clear of the League Two relegation zone, after a slight uptick in form under manager Steve Evans, who was appointed in December.

Rovers had fallen as low as 23rd and recorded a club-record run of 10 straight losses earlier this season, leading to the departure of previous boss Darrell Clarke.

"Ultimately we are underperforming, we've not got the results that we were expecting and we're certainly not at the right end of the table," Martin told BBC Radio Bristol's Having a Gas.

"We're competitive, we're one of the top-end League Two budgets and we're not performing to budget.

"From my point of view, it's certainly a disappointment on how the season's gone so far."

Martin's appointment was announced less than a year ago and he started in the role last summer, having previously worked as a director of football at Stoke City.

While he acknowledged results and performances have "picked up" recently, including back-to-back wins for the first time since September against Walsall and Newport, he said there is still much more to be done.

"From where we were going in the summer and the start of the season, we feel that we are not performing and getting the results that we should be," he said.

Rovers were one of the most active clubs in the January transfer market, with 12 players leaving and nine coming in.

Yet Martin said everyone at the club was "100%" focused on securing the club's English football status this season, before turning attention to the summer transfer window.

"It's constant [matches] now, it's about getting performances, but most importantly getting results," he added.

"We've seen the benefits of two results, what that can do... and we're desperate, we're starving, to keep going to get some more results and move up that table."

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