A look at our rivals next season
Who are ya?
Rovers are back in League Two after just one season in the Conference.
Who’s in charge?
Darrell Clarke became manager in March 2014 following the departure of John Ward but the former Salisbury boss was unable to prevent Rovers’ slide into non-league for the first time in their history. The 37-year-old’s playing career included long spells with Mansfield and Stockport and he played more than 300 senior games before finishing his career at Salisbury.
This season
Relegated on the final day of the 2013-14 season when they lost 1-0 to Mansfield, Rovers bounced back via the play-off final earlier this month which they won on penalties after the Wembley showdown with Grimsby Town finished 1-1. They had finished a point behind Barnet in the Conference campaign.
Bristol Rovers celebrate promotion back to the Football League after beating Grimsby in the play-off final
Summer plans
Clarke intends to bring in four or five new faces and defender Lee Brown believes “quality additions” could see Rovers challenging for another promotion. “We’ve got forward momentum and it’s important you build when you have that," he said.
Previous meetings
The clubs have met five times before, including the FA Cup second round replay in December 2013 which was abandoned because of a waterlogged pitch in the second half. When the game was re-staged, Rovers won 2-1 after the initial first round tie, which was John Gregory’s first game in charge of Reds, ended in a 0-0 draw.
In our first season in the Football League in 2011-12, we beat Rovers 4-1 at home thanks to goals from Tyrone Barnett (2), Matt Tubbs and Ben Smith while the visit to the Memorial Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw.
How far is it?
It’s a 286-mile round trip to the Memorial Stadium.
Useful links
