Jack Sparkes is expecting tough weather conditions against a confident Fleetwood Town side and knows his Bristol Rovers team will have to be at their best as they hunt for a first victory since the end of September.
The Cod Army will be on a high after beating Premier League champions Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, but Rovers will have their focus locked on their own ambitions.
Rovers ended their four-game losing streak in the fourth tier last time out with a goalless draw against Swindon Town at The Memorial Stadium, with the next goal being to end a torrid away run of form.
Speaking to the media before the trip to Fleetwood, Sparkes believes just one positive result can turn their away fortunes around and is looking forward to the test.
READY TO FACE FLEETWOOD
"I'm looking forward to it. I think they will be on a high. We need to use that to our advantage: come out early, give it to them, let them know they're in a game, and start well, which we probably haven't done in the last few games. We'll give it a good go first thing Saturday."
TOUGH CONDITIONS
"It's never nice. We have got to be prepared for that. Both teams have got to play in those conditions, and it doesn't really make a difference. We've just got to make sure that we're at our best."
AWAY PERFORMANCES
"Obviously, we're still trying to put our finger on it. I think all it's going to take is a good result away from home. Hopefully, that gives us a lot of confidence. We've got to keep plugging away, and when that win comes, hopefully many more come after that.
"As much as we can blame ourselves and the decisions aren't going for us at the moment, not that it's an excuse- we still have to be better on a lot of things; a goal coming off someone's backside would definitely help."
AWAY FRUSTRATIONS
"We're really frustrated. I think that's been pretty evident from what the gaffer has been saying as well in his press. I echo that; really, we need to be on top of our game now, especially away, because The Mem, in a way, looks after itself.
"I know we have not won many in the last few games at home, but the performances have probably been there. Now we need to just get a good performance away."
LOOKING TO WIN
"Definitely go for the win. We had a point against Swindon, which, for Bristol Rovers, we're meant to be going for promotion. That's what our aims are. So, we go out every game to try and win.
"There will be no settling for points or anything. Circumstances depend on the game, but we'll be going out there to get three points."
SCORING GOALS
"Everybody needs to contribute. That goes the same way as defenders; we need to be keeping more clean sheets. Midfielders need to be helping the defenders and helping the attackers. It's a team effort, and we're there to supply the strikers with goal-scoring opportunities as well.
"We haven't really done that as much as we did at the start of the season. We haven't done that recently, but we'll be looking to do that a little bit more. We've worked on a few things in training where hopefully you'll see that on Saturday."
BACK IN THE TEAM
"It's nice to be back. I struggled in the first few games. Obviously, coming back from injury, I found it difficult at first to get back into playing 90 minutes, and I think you could see that in my performances that they were inconsistent. Just getting a bit of consistency on the pitch is nice."
