Steve Evans is anticipating a tough encounter when his Bristol Rovers side play Newport County on Saturday but believes the rallying cry of the home crowd at The Memorial Stadium can push his side to victory.
The Pirates welcome the Exiles to BS7 in Saturday’s early kick-off in a potentially pivotal game in Sky Bet League Two, with just one point separating the two teams at the wrong end of the table.
Head Coach Evans is eager to taste his first win as Rovers boss at The Mem, having only seen his side win in the New Year’s Day defeat of Shrewsbury Town away, and has full confidence his team can get all three points thanks to the energy and passion of every Gashead in attendance.
Evans also spoke glowingly about new signing Mees Rijks, following his debut away to Milton Keyns Dons, and offered an update on his squad, injuries and the transfer market with just a few days left of the January window…
I’m enjoying this challenge
“I’ve come in to keep Bristol Rovers in the Football League. That’s the challenge and that remains the challenge up until the last day. I’m really enjoying it. We’ve had absolutely unbelievable support from the owners, who have been terrific and have been helping us a lot, and the fans have been absolutely brilliant.
“A number of fans waited behind after the game with MK Dons and they were pleased with the performance, but sad we didn’t take anything from the match. We’re in a positive place and we’re looking forward to the weekend.”
McEachran and Kilgour back in consideration
“Josh McEachran is available for Saturday. He’s back in full training and has been since Tuesday. Providing Josh comes through the rest of the week, he’ll be in the matchday squad.
“Promise Omochere, we’re still waiting but I don’t think he’s too far away. He’s working very hard but I don’t think we’re quite there yet.
“Tom Lockyer, I think, might not make the weekend but we’ll make a final assessment on him. Alfie Kilgour is a warrior, isn’t he? He’s in the trenches and he’ll be fit for Saturday.”
Mees Rijks is a really welcome addition
“I think the signs are that Mees is a robust striker who will work hard and get you a goal. He’s a really welcome addition, but the reality is also he’s had five or six weeks without playing competitive football and suddenly he’s in a battle in EFL League Two. He will be an asset over the next few months though.”
We’ll need every Gashead against Newport
“I think it’s going to be a really tough game on Saturday. Newport are in a similar position to us and I’ve got a lot of respect for the owner, Huw Jenkins, down there, for trying to resurrect Newpot for their ferocious fans. We’ll need every Gashead we’ve got to come down on Saturday and get behind us. At the end of the day, it’s three points, and nothing we’ll be decided this weekend. But we know the importance of this game psychologically.
“I know the fans will be behind us this weekend, just as they have been every single week since I walked into the Club. I know what it’s like to come to Bristol Rovers as the opposition and have that atmosphere against you. I’ve felt it a lot of times. The Gasheads are amazing in full voice and we’ll need every single one of them behind us. We knew how tough this challenge would be when we came in.”
We know what a buzz a home win would bring!
“I think it would be good psychologically to first and foremost win a home game. Myself and Paul Rainor, we’re still waiting for that first home win so we can go and have that moment with the supporters and everyone is on the same page and aligned and happy.
“We know the buzz and the good feel factor it would bring if we won the game. Let’s get through Saturday and make sure we’re part of the EFL moving forward.”
If we can add to the group in the next few days, we will
“When you’re three or four weeks in you’re still doing a lot of assessments and analysing in terms of the players in the building already, but we’ll continue to work on adding to the group right up until Monday and then, when the window closes, we’ve got who we’ve got.
“We’ve got a number of good players in the building and, if we can add to that group, it would really help us.”
