 After signing a total of 19 players, and releasing or selling 19 of "Rovers"' existing players from the previous season's relegation, a run of four wins from the first ten games left the club in mid-table.However, things quickly worsened, with the club winning only two further league games before January and Buckle publicly falling out with Bristol Rovers' fan favourite Stuart Campbell, who he released from his contract in December 2011.Buckle's position at the club became increasingly unstable following home defeats to Crewe Alexandra and Plymouth Argyle that left the club just outside the relegation zone and, on 3 January 2012, he was sacked by Bristol Rovers after a 2–0 loss to struggling Barnet.