Steve Evans expects a strong Grimsby Town opponent when Bristol Rovers travel to Blundell Park in Sky Bet League Two on Saturday afternoon.
The Pirates top the fourth tier after winning their previous four outings, keeping clean sheets in their last three, but will be tested by a tough Grimsby outfit this weekend.
The Mariners made the playoffs last season before losing to Salford City in the playoff final and are still unbeaten, coming out victorious in their first fixture before drawing the next four.
Speaking to the media before the match, Evans previewed the trip to Grimby, delivered the latest team news and looked back on the last week of training.
A REST FROM MIDWEEK ACTION
“It always gives you an opportunity to do some work with the boys, but we also used it to give them some time at home as well. You know, have a day or two at home. They’re all back in very fresh and chomping at the bit, lots of laughing and joking in the corridors, but they should be because of the way the boys are performing.
"Three games in a week in terms of three league games in a week only perhaps three times in the season you have that, but that week becomes pivotal because it's nine points. You can either take yourself from mid-table to the top end of the league or from the top end to the middle of the league. So, for us, it was good performances that merited the results. So, I’ve always said, if this team's playing at their best, we'll win games.”
CHOOSING THE TEAM
“We take a lot into just picking the team. It's not as straightforward as the team wins, so you go with the same.
“I think your performance at the start of the three-game week was very good, and that encouraged us for Colchester on the Tuesday and then when you deal with Colchester, you got a Rotherham side coming, that probably has the same recipes, DNA as a Colchester side.
“They’re very, very similar in how Alex Bruce sets it up versus Danny and Nicky. So, we decided to leave it alone, but obviously on Saturday now, going to Grimsby, it's a different kettle of fish in Grimsby when you're taking on David Artell’s boys.”
GRIMSBY PREVIEW
“They've been mixed, haven't they? They've had games where they've been leading 2-0, and they've been pegged back to 2-2; they've been 2-0 down, like they were at Cheltenham last weekend, go back themselves and get a point from being 2-0 down.
“So, they're full of good players. You know, David Artell had Grimsby in a brilliant position last year, very unlucky, in my opinion, not to be in contention for promotion at the back end of it.
“But he's kept who he wanted to keep, apart from one lad they've sold, and so they will be a strong opponent for us on Saturday.
“We don't want a seven-hour traffic hurdle all the way, as we had for York, but that's never been an excuse for losing a game, and the minute, as a manager, if you're making excuses based on traffic, you want to concentrate on your players.”
ROVERS’ CHANGE IN PERFORMANCE
“Work on the training ground and credit to individuals. You know, if you're a defender anywhere on the pitch and you're not defending and doing your job properly, the likelihood is your team may concede goals.
“It took probably two or three games for those boys to get quickly back up to speed and the numbness of what defending is all about, doing the hard yard, so to speak, practice on the training ground, putting it into practice. But it's fair to say, a lot of them are at the top end of their game from the back end of last season."
ELLIS HARRISON
“We had to be careful with Ellis when he came back from his cracked rib, but it was quite a sensitive area of the body.
“People can see what we've done. We introduced them, you know, 15 minutes, then a 30-minute cameo, then a45-minute cameo. So, we knew it was coming with Ellis. He's going to be starting games soon, isn't he?
“He's a big player for us, a big character. We love having him around. He was absolutely fantastic in the running last season, and he's getting to that level of form now. We saw him today in training, where he was outstanding.”
INJURIES
“There are three, really: Keenan Gough, Ciarán Kelly and Tommy Leigh. Tommy Leigh would be the one that jumps to the forefront of everyone's mind because he's been putting in some really special performances.
“But we'll see how Tommy is if we can get him on the training ground tomorrow and see if he can train, but we'll also be sensitive if it's not right for us; we've got some really good players desperate to play.
“He just felt his hamstring tighten up. If you're running 15K away at Crawley, for nearly 15K against Colchester, and you're running 9.5K in the first 45minutes against Rotherham, you know you're covering some yards and some distance.
“We’ve obviously got him scanned, and there's no damage in there, but we just have to make sure that he's right to take the strains of an away trip to Grimsby.
“I think when we've been doing the quick games, it's been essential that the medical team are allowed to do their bits in terms of preparing the boys, not just before the game, but you're almost preparing for the Tuesday fixture after the Saturday.
“It's that key. But the medical staff here are good people. We think highly of them. We let them do their job. We don't cut across them. They tell us when players are not right.”
TOP OF THE LEAGUE
“I think if we go back to the dark day of York City away, we still went away and scored two goals and possibly could have scored three or four, but defensively we weren't doing our job.
“So, it takes everyone to do a job. It's okay, our defenders standing up and midfielders, but want your front boys to also get the goal. So here, it'll always be about the team, it'll never be about one individual, it’ll be about the squad, then it'll be the squad over the season. I'm immensely proud of this new group.
“We probably got more new signings than anyone in the group in the summer. So, we are still adjusting to each other, probably from our staff as well, out to the players and back up, and that will only improve us every week."
