After a slow start at Cheltenham last night, Rovers gradually grew into the game and, in the second half particularly, took the game to their opponents.

The game remained goalless, but manager Paul Trollope was pleased with his side's display.

"I think we are asking the players a few questions in the system we are trying to play, both with and without the ball. It's going to take a lot of thought, awareness, and energy to make it work.

"There were times, in the first half, when we didn't quite have the zip, the energy, and intensity that we showed against West Brom and in the games in Scotland. I think you could see, at times, the damage that can be done when we don't play with it because it is quite an open system if you don't get everyone on it at the right time.

"We spoke about that at half time and looked at another plan, one that saw Wayne Brown play in behind the two strikers, and it worked well because the players upped their level by a couple of gears and we got some energy into our play.

"In addition, we passed the ball quicker and showed a better tempo. We started winning more second balls, and playing in a progressive manner, and I think you could see the players enjoyed it.

"It's just a shame that we couldn't put a finish to one or two of the good moves. However we feel we have strikers at the club who can score goals. We had to work hard for openings against West Brom, and tonight, but I thought we had enough of the play to be able to score.

"In the first half we got in a number of good positions just outside the final third but the final decision was wrong and we didn't quite produce the pass, or the cross, that was required."

There were some excellent individual performances last night, for example the intelligent runs of Will Hoskins, the energy of Wayne Brown and the quality shown at the back by James Tunnicliffe.

"Wayne and Will have shown well through most of the pre season games, though I think Will is probably a little bit frustrated at not having scored for us, but he's gone close on a number of occasions. He has the quality in him that we want and the pace that we think will cause teams problems.

"Wayne has had a good influence with his energy and quality, and will add a creative side to us.

"It was a good test for James tonight. After the injury he sustained at Morton he missed a week's training, but he's been involved in two intensive sessions in the last couple of days and he, alongside Danny Coles, played well under pressure, especially in the first half, tonight."

The new system being played certainly suits Dominic Blizzard as he's back in the central midfield role that he prefers.

"He will be a key player for us. I think, in large spells of the game, we could see the quality he has. He's fitter than he's ever been since he joined us, his strength is there and his confidence is coming now. He's demanding the ball off of people, he passes it well and I think he's shown he can also undertake his defensive duties."

Skipper Stuart Campbell missed last night's game, simply as a precautionary measure.

"His hamstring was a little bit tight after the West Brom game and as he's had enough action through pre season, we didn't want to risk any longer term injury this evening."

Once again, on loan goalkeeper Luke Daniels was missing from the starting lineup, and the manager gave the following update.

"Our own medical staff are still in discussions with their counterparts at West Brom and those discussions will continue. Luke has had a scan and the extent of the injury is known, but we are looking at rehabilitation time at present. We will know more about whether he's coming back to us, or not, within the next 24/48 hours.

"We do need another goalkeeper as it's not an ideal situation at the moment. We worked long and hard to bring Luke in, but we need to know the timescale for his recovery. If he's coming back, want him here as soon as possible so he can work with us again, but if he's not returning we need to move on. We do have contingency plans to implement, if required, but at the moment we aren't sure whether we will need to activate those."

In the meantime, Mike Green has seized his opportunity of getting closer to a first team spot and played well against West Brom and again last night.

"I am very pleased with Mike. He performed to a good level against West Brom after finding out he was going to start at eleventh hour and showed a strong mentality and a good nerve to come into a difficult situation.

"Tonight was a different pressure, because he's known he would be playing for the last couple of days. I thought he produced a good display, made some good saves, took some good crosses and kicked well and he can be very pleased with his last two games."