Steve Evans will take a win for Bristol Rovers by any means necessary, but was adamant that performances will translate into points.
The Pirates will look to start 2026 with a first win since September when they travel to Shrewsbury Town in Sky Bet League Two, with both teams looking to push up the table. The Gas, who are in 22nd position, are only one point behind the Shrews.
Rovers were impressive for the majority of their fixture against Bromley, taking a two-goal lead against the current league leaders before falling to defeat. However, they did not bring the positives of their performance to their recent clash against Barnet and fell to a 2-0 loss at The Memorial Stadium.
Speaking to the media, Evans previewed the clash against Shrewsbury, highlighting the importance of a strong performance before discussing the squad.
SHREWSBURY TOWN PREVIEW
"Some supporters would say that it’s a 20-pointer. You don’t get 20-pointers, you don’t get six-pointers, you get three-pointers, but I’ve got a lot of respect for Michael Appleton. I think he took over a Shrewsbury Town team that was in difficult times as well, and he’s working hard to change that.
"He’s had the benefit of proper windows, and we have not, but that will come. We will go to Shrewsbury, and we’ll try to pick a shape and a team that will play to try to win the game. There’s no point in us saying that we’re going to sit in against Shrewsbury. It may end up like that, but we’re going to try to win the game."
POINTS AND PERFORMANCES
"We said that we would take a couple of backside goals and a scrappy win. Of course, you would with the position that we are in, but I’ve always believed in football that performances normally bring results.
"So, if we are sitting here against Shrewsbury after the game and saying that the boys have played really well today, we’ll probably win the game. We all spoke about the performance against Bromley, which is well gone, but for 53 minutes, we were outstanding, but you don’t win games after 53 minutes when people make silly decisions."
CHANGING THE FORM
"It’s going to take some fresh faces. There’s no doubt about that. From my point of view, we will be working really hard in January to put in minimal changes, in terms of the changes we can make. Then, subject to that doing its job, we’ll go to work in the summer, and we’ll transform this team, for sure, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken this job.
"I never hid my words when I first took the job. The immediate challenge for this team is now, and if some people are forgetting that, then they are misguided. Fortunately for me and for Paul Raynor, the owner acknowledges and agrees, and so does Ricky Martin. That’s important because they are onside for the changes that I have proposed, and I will continue to propose because tonight probably makes me propose one or two more."
THE SQUAD
"I think there is no questioning the effort, commitment and the passion. Probably, the injuries don’t help because I’m looking from a distance, and I see the strikers, and I think they are decent, especially Ellis Harrison and Promise Omochere. So, we have been hampered a bit by that, but there are going to be no excuses going forward.
"There are enough good players in the squad to be performing and to get better results than we are, but if you don’t do the basics right, defend set plays, you’ll find it hard to win games."
