Former Bristol Rovers player David Hillier feels something special is happening at The Gas.
The former midfielder returned to The Memorial Stadium to watch the Pirates beat Rotherham United 1-0, with Tommy Leigh netting the only goal with a low first-time finish.
It was a lively atmosphere at BS7, and there should be no surprise, with the Gas staying top of the Sky Bet League Two table with a fourth straight win and matching a club record of ten successive home league wins.
It was not the first time Hillier has been back at The Mem since departing as a player, but the fixture against the Millers felt different from the ones before, with the 56-year-old impressed by Steve Evans and his squad.
"I've been back a few times recently in the last couple of seasons, but it didn't feel like it does today," he said. "There's something special going on at the club since Steve took over.
"There was a good reaction from the players from December onwards, and I think having a new season and a pre-season has really kicked them off well. I'm delighted to be here.
"It's been a great start [to the season]. Steve came in on my birthday on December 19, played Crewe and got the 1-1 draw, stabilised the side, and then you need that pre-season to address the issues in the side.
"People have come and gone, and he's got a really good balance. I think he's got a good work ethic. So, that transfers to the players. If you see a manager keep himself fit, Steve lost a lot of weight and worked really hard before he came here, so he was in a disciplined mood. He has got that into the team, and I think it's shown.
"It's shown in their spirit; he's got them fit. I think there is a lot of energy in the team, and there is competition. Loans come in and go out; I think people are on their toes, and look where we are in the league today. We are only a few games in, but it's been exciting football so far."
It has been almost 25 years since Hillier donned the famous blue-and-white quarters, with the former midfielder playing 83 league games for the Gas across all competitions between 1999 and 2002, scoring one goal.
The Pirates narrowly missed the playoffs during his first season, finishing seventh, two points below Stoke City in the place above. Despite feeling that the Gas could have achieved more, Hillier looks back fondly at his time with Rovers, where he found a home.
"I had a fantastic time. It was not just at Bristol Rovers, but in Bristol. Coming from London, you want the same kind of feel. You want a homely feel, you want a city feel, and I had the opportunity to go to Aberdeen or to Bristol. Aberdeen was more money, but Bristol was more my kind of thing.
"We had a couple of half-decent seasons. We nearly got into the playoffs, but unfortunately Jamie Cureton and Jason Roberts got injured, and we didn't replace them with forwards. We got a right-back and a left winger in.
"We didn't achieve as well as we could, but it was still a great season. I was taking in the lounge about the FA Cup against Derby and Everton, and getting big games like that for a little club was fantastic.
"I think my everlasting memory is the Thatchers End. I have always looked at this stand. You don't get many people standing at football matches now, but when the Gasheads are in song behind there, and they are a couple of goals up, it's an unbelievable place to be."
Hillier started his career at Arsenal and progressed through the academy, captaining the Gunners' 1988 FA Youth Cup final triumph and helped win the Football Combination title in 1989/90.
He played 104 league games for Arsenal and featured in Arsenal's 1990/91 League Championship success, but an injury in 1993 meant he missed the FA Cup and Coca-Cola Cup final wins. Hillier also did not play in the Cup Winners' Cup final in 1994, but played in the 1995 final a year later, with the Gunners losing to Zaragoza.
Reflecting on his time at Arsenal, Hillier chatted about his progress through the ranks and likened playing in front of massive crowds to the Thatchers End.
"I joined Arsenal at 13, joined the schoolboys at 14, I was an apprentice at 16, pro at 18, I got my opportunity at 19, and we had squads of 18, so there was a good chance that you were going to get in.
"Out of the team in front of me, you had Paul Merson, David Rocastle, Michael Thomas, Tony Adams, and there were several other players on the fringes of the squad.
"There was a good development process there, and there was a good chance you got in the team. I banged away, and I was so fortunate: European Cup, FA Cup, League Cup, and league champions. I came here with no expectations from Bristol Rovers because I already had a good time, but I wanted to have the best time at the end of my career, which I certainly had."
"I played in the Super Cup in front of 80,000 people at Wembley. Although I didn't play in the [FA Cup] final, I played in the semi-finals against Spurs, 80,000 again.
"As a player, that's irrelevant. If 10,000 people are singing their hearts out, they sound like 80,000 anyway. Just the Thatchers End there; if they all sang, it would be like Wembley for me."
After a footballer retires, an obvious choice is to stay in the sport that has been at the heart of their life, sticking with something they know and often love. However, Hillier picked a different path from most.
After several months out of the game, he had another calling, going from footballer to fireman, a role that he committed to for 15 years.
"I have always been involved in building works and properties, but my wife needed me out of the house. I had been around for about three months, and she said I needed to get a job.
"We literally heard an advert on the radio on one of the Bristol local stations, and they were advertising for firefighters. She said it would be good and thought it would be better than going to the mall every day to shop.
"So, I went for it, and I spent 15 great years in the fire service, representing the people of Bristol, saving lives, saving cats, saving dogs. We did it all. I felt like a real part of the Bristol community, and I was giving back. I was making a difference, which was good.
"Football is a young man's game. You can't play football forever, and back in the day, you couldn't make enough money to live off it, stay in football or do what you want.
"It was a life choice, and I just wanted to do something good. The thing about the fire service is that they had a good football team, so they played a lot of sports, like badminton and volleyball, and were in the gym every day.
"You're with a group of people that is a team. Every station has a team, and you're part of a team. You have overnight stays with each other because it's two days, two nights. So, the working environment wasn't much different from football. It was just what you did and the job you did. Hopefully, you still left whatever job you did, leaving people happy. I tried to do that as a footballer, and I tried to do that as a fireman."
Born in Blackheath, London, Hillier swapped his life in the capital for Bristol, where he has supported local football and brought up his family.
"I love Bristol. Bristol for me is like a small London without all of the rubbish because when I go back to London now, it doesn't feel like London. Bristol still has that vibe; there is still a nice feel, and both of my kids have been brought up here.
"They have got partners who are from Bristol; they live in Bristol, and they have not moved, and they have had plenty of opportunities to. It is a really nice place, and the weather is better than Aberdeen. So, it all worked out in the end."
