CIAN Bolger is determined to try to avenge what he rates as one of Bristol Rovers' worst displays of the season when Oxford United visit the Memorial Stadium today.

The young central defender has painful memories of the Pirates' 3-0 reverse at the Kassam Stadium back in October – especially as it came in front of big travelling support.

The result came as Paul Buckle's side were going through a poor spell which brought five defeats in seven outings, but Bolger feels Rovers are now better equipped to give a decent account of themselves against Chris Wilder's play-off chasers.

"The defeat at Oxford was probably one of our worst performances of the season, so we have a point to prove today," said central defender Bolger.

"There were nearly 3,000 of our fans at that game and we didn't really show up at all, which was disappointing.

"Every team goes through a bad spell, but ours lasted far too long."

Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to a late goal at Shrewsbury was Rovers' first reverse under new boss Mark McGhee and ended a five-game unbeaten spell.

"He's been great since he came in. He's brought a balance to the team, he's been brilliant to work with and he's a good manager," said Bolger, who has recently renewed a defensive partnership with fellow Leicester City loanee Tom Parkes.

"It was disappointing when Aaron Downes went out injured because I thought we were doing well alongside each other.

"But it was great when the gaffer brought Tom in because we'd played alongside each other for a couple of years at Leicester's Academy, so it's been easy to play with him again."

Another of Rovers' central defenders, Byron Anthony, yesterday joined Hereford United on an initial month's loan and today's game will see Bolger chalk up his 30th Football League appearance – all of them gained during loan spells with the Pirates.

"I think I've got a lot wiser since I've been here," he said. "Maybe I was a bit naive when I first came here and would get shrugged off the ball, but, hopefully, I'm a bit cuter now and all aspects of my game have improved.

"I feel I'm doing alright, so I'll just keep working hard."

Rovers have a doubt over target man Matt Harrold because of a tight hamstring. But McGhee has options with Chris Zebroski available after completing a two-match suspension and winger Mustapha Carayol also in contention for a place.

"At the moment games can't come fast enough for me because this is a learning process," said McGhee.

"They allow me to look at different players, different combinations and get as much information on them as quickly as I can.

"Oxford will be a hard game because they are one of the teams in contentions for the play-offs. They are not there by accident – they have some good players and have brought more in recently who have been effective for them already.

"But it's a chance to put the disappointment of Tuesday night behind us quickly.

"There were a lot of good things about the performance at Shrewsbury and you also have to take into account their home record and the fact they are a good team. But I was disappointed that our run came to an end and particularly that we conceded a goal from a set-piece."

McGhee revealed injured central defender Downes has offered to help Rovers out on a scouting basis while he recovers from a knee injury.

"We had Aaron watching Oxford the other night and he has given us a very comprehensive report. He has offered to do some scouting for us while he is injured, and that is a big asset for us," said the manager.