The Thatchers End has played a key role in Bristol Rovers recent success, and Manager Steve Evans wants to join the Gasheads there during the Pirates final home match of the season.
The Gas have won their last seven matches in Sky Bet League Two and are looking to make it eight on the weekend, a record that no other team in the English Football League has achieved this campaign.
At the heart of the success has been the form at The Mem, where Rovers have won eight of their last nine outings. However, it will be tough for the Gas against a Cheltenham Town team that has proven to be difficult to beat under experienced manager Steve Cotterill.
Speaking to the media before the match, Evans is aiming for another victory and is looking to stick to his plans of going into the Thatchers End in the closing stages of the fixture against the Robins...
THE LAST HOME GAME OF THE SEASON
“The Mem, when you’re the manager of Bristol Rovers, it’s a brilliant place to come, isn’t it? For me, it’s like going to church on a Sunday, it’s great. It’s a great feeling when you go in, and it’s a great feeling when you come out of it.
"So, we’re really looking forward to it. It’s our chance to set a little record, I think two other clubs besides ourselves have got seven consecutive wins this season, no one’s got eight, and the other two can’t achieve it this season. So, it’s also a big incentive for us in front of a full house as well, it’s a sold-out crowd, so we’re looking forward to it."
SEVEN STRAIGHT WINS FOR THE GAS
“I think I’ve had a couple of runs where it has been like that, but none that really spring to mind. Not consecutive wins. It’s so hard to achieve in this game, as we know. We’ve ridden our luck a little bit in some games, and we’ve been fortunate in others.
"I think over the piece, there’s no doubting that we deserved where we are, which is top of the table, if you take it from when this group was put together. In a meeting this morning with the players, I addressed them and said it. Credit to them as a group and as men that we are top of the table since this group came together.
"So, we’ve set a clear mandate that we want to stay top of that table when we leave Notts County in two weeks."
EVANS IN THE THATCHERS END
"If they start singing, I’m going in. I’m going to the Thatchers End, and I’m going to sing loud and proud, and if you're near me, I apologise for my singing in advance. At any family karaoke, I’m not allowed anywhere near the mic, but I will be in the Thatchers end. I’d say probably around 84, 85 minutes, I’ll be in there.
"The game is important for us because it’s important that we create a record of eight wins in a row. It’s important for individuals who are still trying to convince themselves and us as well; they should be here next season and playing their part in what will be a wonderful season.
"But there’s also a time for us to enjoy a moment on Saturday and listen, if we’re losing the game and it’s really tight, I won’t be going in, I’ll be on the bench. If the game is in our control, then I’ll take the opportunity to be in with the real people, the fans.
"I’m part of them, I’ll want to watch the action. I’ll certainly try to shout to Paul Raynor, but I might start the chant. I’d love to do it, I’ve said I would do it, people have doubted it, most Bristol City fans, most Gasheads have doubted it when I’ve been in the town. I'm true to my word."
PROMISE OMOCHERE’S GOAL AGAINST TRANMERE
“I’ve always been of the belief that every player really has their own individual condensed plan within the bigger group. Promise was never afforded that until we walked into the building.
“He’s now afforded it, but so were other players. It’s not just Promise, it’s why we’ve got 99 per cent of our squad available to us. We’ve individualised the plans, and we’ve got Promise in a really good place.
“He’s walked about this week with the biggest smile I’ve seen from him in a long time. That all comes from confidence and scoring what we all look back on as a magical goal for him, and credit to Promise and credit to the medical department for now getting him in shape. The plan is in place for him now, so we hope that plan can be as productive as it has been for the last couple of weeks.”
CHELTENHAM PREVIEW
"They’ll be difficult to beat, a strong manager and good players. Steve will fight for his team, I’ll fight for my team, and we’ll go toe to toe and then after the game, I’ll give him a true handshake, but I won’t see him for a while after the game if I’m with the Gasheads.
"He’s a good man, he’s got good players, and it’ll be another big test for us, but it’s another game we want to win, and we want to get to the summer off the back of an amazing run."
TEAM NEWS
“Macauley Southam-Hales has had a little relapse, but it’s nothing; he just felt his back twinge a little bit in training. His hamstring is good, it’s fine. Clinton Mola is training, so there are no issues with Clinton.
“Alfie Kilgour will have an operation on Monday, so he tried to make it for tomorrow, but the surgeon is on holiday. But Alfie will be in on Monday, and if you’re ever going to have an operation, we’ve been fortunate enough to be at a point where we can release our captain to go and have this; it’s a minor procedure by today’s standards.
“But in three, four weeks’ time, Alfie will be in here every day, because I’ll be in, in the mid-summer, the medical staff will be in, but he’ll be released from here from about three weeks’ time to go on his family holiday.
“He'll be ready to come back and play a part in pre-season. It will be a quick turnaround, and that’s why we’ve sped up the timescales and when he can be operated on. Most clubs, if we were in the battle, we would have got through painkilling, injections and different kinds of things, but the kid has been playing with it, in fairness to him.
“I don’t say it lightly, but he does have the heart the size of Big Ben, he’s been courageous for us, but he needs to go and have his operation, he needs to be returned to playing fitness before he’s released.
“I just really want him returned to full fitness, and he can go and have a lovely break, and he’s deserving of it because he’staken the pressure of watching a really poor and despairing Bristol Rovers to leading a courageous and successful Bristol Rovers in the space of the same season. The difference in the first part of the season to January onwards is immeasurable in football terms.”
