Bristol Rovers have been on a stellar eight-game winning run in Sky Bet League Two, with Clinton Mola expecting Notts County to pose the biggest challenge to their streak.
The Pirates will want to end the 2025/26 campaign strongly, but will be up against a Magpies team that still has everything to play for. Martin Paterson's men are still in the race for promotion. However, they will only go up automatically if they win, Cambridge United lose and Salford City drop points.
Nevertheless, Meadow Lane looks set to be a sell-out, with the Gasheads also packing the away end in Nottingham. Rovers themselves still have their eyes on a record. The Gas will be searching for a ninth successive triumph, something no other team has achieved in the top five leagues in English football.
Speaking to the media before the fixture, Mola is expecting a difficult match on Saturday, but knows the Pirates will cause Notts problems.
"We’ve still got another game left, so it’s probably going to be our toughest game yet, with Notts County, with what they’re pushing for," he said. "We're ready for it."
“Saturday could probably be our toughest test yet, but for them it could probably be their toughest test as well, with playing against a team that’s got so much momentum.
"The momentum that we’ve got, it’s not a fluke, winning eight games on the trot, it’s not a fluke, this is hard hours, hard work put in and of course that’s credit to the gaffer and the staff, and then that’s credit to us players as well.
"It’s not easy at any level to win a football game, let alone eight in a row, but we have an opportunity on Saturday to make it nine in a row, and that's what we'll be looking to do."
Mola has played some of his best football in the blue-and-white quarters under Steve Evans, who has mostly utilised him in the midfield. It is an area Mola is used to after playing there during his time in Chelsea's academy. Talking about Evans, Mola credits him with the upturn in the team's form and his own.
"Credit to the gaffer, because he’s got us all on board," said the 25-year-old. "We all know we’ve got a part to play, and we see it in the changes and how he uses everyone in the team. So, everyone’s ready, and that’s a credit to the squad as well.
"Whether you’re playing or not, we’ve got a good group, so everyone is cheering on each other, and everyone is working hard in training and pushing each other on. That’s where it starts."
Mola later added, "Steve has turned my career around at this club by putting me in this new role in midfield, and he spoke to me before the MK Dons game, and he said that he knows I can play centre-mid, he said, 'how do I feel about it?' I said, 'that’s where I obviously grew up playing', and all thanks go to him from me.
"He’s the one that put me there, he’s the one that trusted me there, and I hope that I’ve repaid that."
It has been a mixed season for Mola, who had spells out of the team and in the middle of the campaign before gaining a regular place in the Rovers side, racking up 38 appearances across all competitions, with 30 in Sky Bet League Two.
Ups and downs have also happened for the Pirates as a team, with Rovers going through a tough patch of form in 2025 before a much-improved 2026, with their results up there with some of the best in the fourth tier.
Such times have given Mola and his team plenty to learn from.
"I’ve learnt that you have to keep going, even when there’s disappointment," he said. "Obviously, that also links into the defeats we were having.
"We didn’t just give up; we kept going, we were resilient, and of course, we turned it around a bit. With me, there were periods where I was out of the team and wasn’t playing. I didn’t let that get to me; I just kept my head down and kept working and training every time. When opportunity did come, I tried to impress and work my hardest for the team."
There is only one game left in the 2025/26 term, but after eight straight victories, the aim is simple.
"The main thing is obviously, firstly, finish off the season as strongly as possible, and take that momentum into next season," he said. "Then hopefully we can continue to keep on unlocking and breaking different records."
