Steve Evans wants to give the Gasheads some memorable days after he was confirmed as Bristol Rovers Men's First Team Manager on a deal until 2028.
On a special day for every Gashead, Chairman Hussain AlSaeed proudly announced the news ahead of the Pirates' Sky Bet League Two clash against Crawley Town, with the Gas beating the Red Devils 3-1 thanks to goals from Ellis Harrison, Mees Rijks and Yusuf Akhamrich.
Rovers have had great success in recent weeks, winning their previous six matches in the fourth tier, eight of their previous nine matches and claiming an impressive 28 points from the last 33 available.
Speaking to BRTV, Evans was delighted to commit his future to the Club and thanked the Gasheads for their continued support since he first took charge in December.
Well, Steve, congratulations on a full contract as Bristol Rovers Head Coach. How does that feel?
“It’s fantastic. Here we are in the Thatchers End, where all the songs go on. I’m proud to be here. It’s a big Football Club with the board having big ambitions, and they have had them since they’ve come in that have not been realised. I hope to be the guy who gives the Gas family some memorable days in the next months and years ahead.”
You mentioned that we are here in the Thatchers End at The Memorial Stadium. It’s a stand that has given you so much positive praise over the last few months, but it has also given you a bit of banter as well...
“They have mushed me for years. I used to crawl off, but they have been phenomenal since I’ve come in and are a big part. When I used to bring teams here with Paul Raynor, we used to say before on the team coach, ‘here we go'. Not only us but the team is going to have a difficult time, and the home club is going to get fantastic support.
“It’s been unbelievable since I walked in. There was a bit of negativity and doom and gloom around it, but as soon as we started putting a bit of practise in the team and the team was starting to produce the type of performance that we want them to do and we like them to do, then the fans grabbed it, and they’ve been tremendous.
“They are a big reason why I am here, to be fair. We’ve got the board, and the board have been absolutely phenomenal. Our chairman, I have had four or five meetings on this with him, never once about what my deal was about. But himself, Abdullatif [AlSaeed], Khaled [Alkandari], Abdulaziz [Alroomi], every one of them has had an input in talking to me and planning for now, for the summer and for the future, so thank you to every one of them.”
I was looking back at the interview we did when you first joined the Club back in December and you talked about what a Steve Evans team would look like, how they would play, perform and look like on the pitch. In the last six weeks, we have really seen that from this group of players...
“We have seen it in spells. I don’t think we have seen it as consistently as we wanted to, but the thing that has been consistent is the most important thing in football, which is results. You have seen the reward that the players have from that, which is the fans turning up in ever-increasing numbers. There were over 10,000, which was incredible for a team trying to stay in League Two.
“Obviously, we have ambitions that are far greater than that, but these ambitions have been here for a number of years now, and they have never been realised. I understand the first task was to keep the Club in the Football League. That was a huge task; we’ve achieved that, but it’s an even bigger task to get a team promoted. I am desperate for more. I am desperate to take the Gas back into League One, and I have said it before, let's give the supporters an opportunity to dream and let's have the Thatchers End in full voice two years from now, looking forward to playing Bristol City.”
There is a little over three weeks left this season. With your future secured now, with safety secured in the Football League as well, what do those three weeks look like for you?
“Hopefully, they look like winning games. Since the transfer window closed, we are, in fact, top of the league if you take the picture from then until now. My aim for every player and every member of staff is to continue to try and step up with the front foot forward.
“Let's try and get as many points as we can and when we come out at Notts County at the start of May, we can’t go and achieve the ambitions of playoffs, but we can have our own ambitions, which is to be in the top half of the table. If we deal with most of the points available to us, that’s where we would finish.”
With your future secured and Paul Raynor also securing his future, it allows you, along with the rest of the first team staff, to start planning for the summer and pre-season as well...
“It means that I have to put up with Paul Raynor for a little bit longer. In all seriousness, Paul plays a massive part in my DNA and what I do. He’s a brother to me, really. People know how close we are. Do we argue? Do we disagree? We do most days on certain things because that’s what football is about. I am sure that in the Thatchers End, supporters will disagree on who has played well, who has not and who their favourite player is.
“That’s the wonderful thing about the sport that we all fall in love with. He’s a big part, but every member of staff who will be with us has to step up and let's realise the ambition and why the owners bought this Football Club.
“We’re all tasked with taking it up a level. Let’s concentrate on finishing the season, that’s step one. Step two is to rebuild over the summer and add what we feel we’re missing to make it a top-end group. Then, let’s deliver a season where it’s on where Gasheads most Saturday nights realise that Bristol is blue.”
You mentioned it there, you’re one of them, one of us, one of the Gasheads. They’ve thoroughly enjoyed you running up to this end and giving it the fist bumps at the end of wins. Hopefully, there are a lot more of those in the next couple of years.
"Yeah, there’s more of that. I think that the last home game of the season against Cheltenham, and it would be no disrespect to Cheltenham or anyone, but in the 80th minute, I’m coming in. I’mcoming in to join them, I’m going to come and sing, I’m going to come be part of it.
"We understand that the Chief Executive, Ritchie [Bates], has told me there are no rules to apply to stop it. So, in the 80th minute, win, lose or draw, I’m going to be right behind the boys from here and show this family and the Thatchers End that I’m no different to them. You know, we wake up and look forward to football and enjoy it, and I hope I can serve them proud, but I’m coming in to sing with them."
And just finally, Steve, what is your message to those Gasheads not just going into the final games of the season but the next season and the season beyond?
"I think it’s get ready for a rollercoaster of a season, and everywhere I’ve been, I’ve delivered a promotion on that basis. When we’re 1-1 here, if we’re drawing a game 1-1, we’re going to try to win it. We may lose, but you know, when you’ve got good players, you win a lot of them.
"So, get ready for a positive summer, there’ll be some exciting signings, some signings perhaps you don’t know, but there’ll be some signings that will make you a little bit excited."
