Fleetwood v Pompey: the opposition view

That moment arrived after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Doncaster – and it wasn’t a surprise.

You just can’t lose seven games in a row and expect your manager to remain in charge.

Rosler was actually given a lot longer than perhaps he might have had at other clubs because of last season.

Fleetwood reached the play-off semi-finals, where they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Bradford.

They were expected to again challenge during the current campaign, but it has been up and down.

There was a bad run before Christmas, but they came back with wins against Oldham, Southend and Bury (twice).

However, since January 13 they have lost every match.

Fleetwood have also not won at home since a 2-0 victory over Oxford United on October 28.

Having said that, the supporters never really turned against Rosler, but the Doncaster performance was simply not up to it.

Previous displays weren’t too bad, but it was a case of individual mistakes time and time again, and from different players. There are only so many times you can talk about errors and people learning.

Something hadn’t clicked in recent weeks and the club acted to make a change, with first-team coach Barry Nicholson taking over in a caretaker capacity.

You can look back at the summer, when the Cod Army lost experienced players like Conor McLaughlin (Millwall), David Ball (Rotherham) and Jimmy Ryan (Blackpool).

They were big shoes to fill and offered key leadership, real talkers in the dressing room, and have been replaced by younger players.

Regardless, we expected them to be around the top 10 – instead they are outside the relegation zone on goal difference.

In January, Paddy Madden and Toumani Diagouraga were recruited, while Bobby Grant and Conor McAleny returned from injury to boost Rosler’s side, but now they are involved in a relegation battle.

Still, there have been positives this season, with Kyle Dempsey doing well, Madden has made an immediate impact with three goals, while McAleny is the star man and by far the best player.

He has spent most of the season sidelined by an ankle injury, but Rosler did himself no favours by naming the attacker on the bench in the last two games when he should have been starting.