CARETAKER-boss Dennis Rofe was left to rue seeing Cherries concede a “crucial” first goal as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Coventry today.

First-team coach Rofe took charge of team affairs at the Ricoh Arena following the midweek departure of management duo Paul Groves and Shaun Brooks.

And Rofe looked on as Cherries failed to stem the tide with David McGoldrick’s second-half strike condemning them to a fourth straight defeat and a place in the League One drop zone.

Rofe said: “I changed the formation and wanted to freshen up the boys. We had a game plan which, until half-time, had been working quite well.

“But there are fine margins between winning and losing. We had a few chances, which we didn’t take, and so did they. The game was evenly balanced at half-time but, unfortunately, we conceded a goal and it was possibly poor defending.

“I always thought this would be a tight game between two teams that, for various reasons, are probably at the wrong end of the league. The first goal was always going to be crucial and even more so today.

“If we had got it, it would have given our boys a bit of impetus and would certainly have knocked them. The nerves would have transferred to them and we might have grown in confidence. Unfortunately, they got it and we lost a bit of confidence.”

Rofe added: “I am sorry for the supporters that they have to again go home without a point to carry and I am sorry for the team because I thought the players put in real shift for me.”

Asked whether it had been difficult to prepare the players due to the turmoil, Rofe replied: “No, I don’t think it is difficult because, when you are in football, you get used to the events of this week.”

And asked what his immediate plans were, Rofe quipped: “I think the wife has got Chinese tonight!”

He added: “I was asked to take the team today and that is what I have done. The powers that be will decide what happens in the future.”

Coventry manager Mark Robins, who has seen the Sky Blues take seven points from four games since he was appointed last month, said: “If they had scored first, I think it would have been a big struggle because the game was flat from both teams. But there was no real heart-in-mouth time for us at all.”

“We were okay in the first half but a lot better in the second. We created a number of chances and there were a lot more pleasing aspects in the second half than there had been in the first.

“David McGoldrick must have been a fraction offside when he walked the ball into the net in the first half and I thought we may push on then and really open them up. The game was there for the taking.”