Paul Trollope’s Match Reaction

Bristol Rovers Manager talks about his teams 1-0 win over Swindon Town at the Memorial Stadium.

‘It’s nice to have it in our own hands, because we’ve been playing catch up for a long time,

‘It’s taken a lot of hard work to get in there, and it’s a good time to make a move and to be in form.

‘But we have stressed to the players that we can’t afford any sort of complacency now. If we take our foot off the pedal then we’ll find ourselves back in eighth place next Saturday evening and our season will be over.

‘We know the target, we know what we have to do, and our focus now turns to Hartlepool next Saturday and going there and winning.

‘If we manage to beat Hartlepool it will be a massive achievement, especially as it wasn’t so long ago we were down in 17th place.

‘We won our games in hand and we’ve picked up some good results, and the mentality, the resilience, and the desire for the players to work for each other has shone through in the last month or two, and that has to continue next weekend.

‘We’ve congratulated the players on a fantastic effort, but on Monday we need to come back in and work again. We need to train well, so that when we go to Hartlepool we are ready for them, because it will be very tough.

‘It’s black and white now, we know what we have to do, and we know what happens if we do it. We will go there with respect for them, but with no fear, and hopefully we’ll be able to come out on top with the three points we need.

‘I thought we dominated in long spells during the first half. We were a little bit disappointed at half-time that we weren’t winning by more than one goal, but we were pleased with the way the second half went because we made sure we were solid and continued to look a threat going forward.

‘Rickie Lambert’s goal was an excellent strike, he has the quality to do that. He was disappointed on Tuesday because he missed a volley from eight yards, and he missed one early on today as well.

‘But as soon as that ball sat up you wanted him to hit it, because he’s got great technique, and that was a goal worthy of winning any football match.

‘Credit to the fans as well because they were right behind us, and the atmosphere was fantastic. The game was played in the right spirit on and off the pitch, and we wish Swindon well in their game against Walsall next week.’