Paul Trollope is confident that the recent turnaround in fortunes for Rovers can be just the start of an improved period of results.

The first team coach has watched his team go three games unbeaten over recent weeks, and record back-to-back clean sheets against Crewe Alexandra and Colchester United.

Leyton Orient visit the Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and if the defence holds firm again, it will be the first time since the Johnstone's Paint Trophy victories over Bristol City and a scoreless League Two draw at Shrewsbury Town that the Pirates have kept three clean sheets in a row.

"Winning games always brings confidence, and we thought even against Crewe that some of the anxiety we'd seen in previous weeks had been lifted," Paul told bristolrovers.co.uk.

"We took the game by the scruff of the neck, and in the second half in particular we showed a lot more composure on the ball than we have done of late.

"We've known we've needed to improve defensively, and we've done that, but we're still in a position in the table that we're not comfortable with.

"We've lost too many games for this stage in the season, but that's behind us now and we feel we've made adjustments to help the team and help individuals.

"Hopefully the last few results is just the start of it and we can continue this run and the improvements we've made over the coming weeks and months."

Despite some frustrating results this season, Paul has been pleased with the attitude his players have shown in training.

"The atmosphere in training has always been good," he said, "But sometimes on matchdays the confidence hasn't been there. We've taken steps forward though, and the signs are good.

"Players who came in the summer are reaching full fitness, and some of the anxiety has been alleviated. We can't get too carried, but we're confident that we've made progress and we'll continue to do so."