For Darrell Clarke, the mentality of his Bristol Rovers players is more important than anything.
The Gas are looking to bounce back from their opening day defeat to Harrogate Town at The Memorial Stadium and claim their first victory of the 2025/26 Sky Bet League Two campaign. However, with 45 games remaining this term in the fourth tier, Clarke is looking to get over last weekend's disappointment to lead Rovers to their first competitive away victory since January.
Fleetwood will be looking to continue their bright start to the new campaign, with the Fisherman collecting three points on their travels against newly promoted Barnet. Trips to Highbury Stadium have been tight in recent years, with Fleetwood and Rovers drawing four of their last five fixtures in Lancashire.
Speaking before the Gas’ trip to Fleetwood, Clarke emphasised the importance of learning with each game played, the mentality of the group and the test the Fisherman will bring.
LEARNING FROM HARROGATE DEFEAT
"Learn is the keyword. That’s what you’re doing with the group. Obviously, there have been a lot of changes and a lot of staff changes. So, you learn with each game, and you learn as those games come thick and fast. We have about seven games potentially in 21 days, so you just learn more about the group with each competitive match you play.
"So, everything is a bit of a learning curve with that. For the first 30 minutes, watching the game back on Saturday night as soon as I got back home, it was a typical first game of the season. But I still think it’s a game we should have won, but we didn’t. It’s disappointing, but we move on to Saturday.
FLEETWOOD TOWN PREVIEW
"It’s early days yet, and they got a good win at Barnet. Fleetwood is always a tough place to go and play, but we’ve had a good week of preparation. So, hopefully that can come into fruition on Saturday."
TACTICS AND MENTALITY
"We will have to be flexible, and we’ll have to be adaptable. That’s not a problem. I want an adaptable squad. We’re working a lot of things out, my coaching staff and I, about the players and the systems. The mentality of the group is key, making sure the mentality is absolutely spot on because if that’s not right, the tactics don’t come into play, to be honest with you.
"It’s about responding every week and every game. There are no quick fixes around here. There are a lot of changes, but it’s something I need to consistently see is the improvement of performances and also mentality improving as we go along the way.
RECRUITMENT
"We need four new players before the window shuts. We’re working hard with the recruitment team and Ricky Martin to make sure we get the right personnel in, but it can’t be rushed. It can’t be scattergun recruitment. It has to be a real focus on it. The Championship and Premier League have not even started yet.
"What happens is that there is a knockdown from that. Some players who wouldn’t have been playing in League One or the Championship, and those teams start becoming available. We’ve got to be patient, but we want the best calibre players we can at the right price."
FABRIZIO CAVEGN
"His fitness levels are good because he’s done a full pre-season and played a part in a couple of games. So, we know he’s ready. He looks in decent condition. We managed to do some light training with him this week, but we’re waiting on clearance on that. So, we’ll see how it goes, but he certainly seems a fit lad."
SHAQ FORDE INJURY
"He’s out for about 12 weeks. He needed an operation on his hamstring, but it’s very unfortunate for the lad because I thought he was having a really good pre-season. But it’s one of those things where it was right in a place where he needed to have surgery with it, and it would be better to have surgery than not have surgery on it. So, it’s eight to 12 weeks."
PROMISE OMOCHERE
“He missed a hell of a lot of games last season. He is still building his minutes up. He’s a talented player who, in my opinion, is only going to get better and better and stronger. So, we have to keep him fit, first and foremost and work hard with him. He obviously ticks a lot of the right attributes for that position, and he needs to get that rhythm and some players need that rhythm of games to bring the best out of them. So, we’re hoping with Promise that’s the case.
“He’s got strength, and he can score goals. I did a lot of work on him when he was at Fleetwood. I’ve seen him play for Fleetwood in three different formations. In the frontline, he gives me flexibility. He’s been a bit forced in the nine [position] at the minute. We’re trying to get that balance around him in the right areas as well.”
