Rosler sees Rovers similarities to Town

Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke and Fleetwood Town head coach Uwe Rosler shake hands after Bristol's 2-1 win at the Memorial Stadium last November.

Rosler’s men travel to the Memorial Stadium on the back of three straight league wins though Darrell Clarke’s men will still be on a high after dumping Championship side Fulham out of the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Both sides had a good start to the season last year but Clarke’s side finished 12th while Rosler’s Fleetwood side roared to a fourth-placed finish.

Rosler pointed out that while Rovers have a bigger fanbase, the only other difference is his side’s ability to maintain momentum.

He said: “They are a similar club to us with one big difference.

“They have a stadium with 10,000 sold out nearly every game; a very intimidating situation especially when we played last year under floodlights.

“This time is different, it is an afternoon. We know what will come and we are ready for it.

“It is a similar club, with a bigger fan base, with a bigger region around Bristol; I heard it is around two million, they have a place for a big rugby team and two big football clubs.

“In general it is all about the players on Saturday.

“We are a similar club but we were capable of sustaining our good run until the end of the season and finishing in the top six.”

Last term Town lost 2-1 at the Memorial Stadium before turning the tables at Highbury to win 3-1.

The latter was a heated affair, especially in the dug-outs but Rosler says the game is about players, not about coaches.

However, he also added that his players are keen to show how much they have improved since that defeat to Rovers last November.

He said: “We watched the game (against Fulham).

“They played a very strong team like we expected and a very good result.

“That will probably be our biggest test away from home so far this season.

“All due respect to Northampton. That was a tough one, that was for us, the first away that was a tough one.

“Bristol Rovers are also thinking what happened last year there, where they were very good, that will be a real test for us and that will show us how stable, how confident and how consistent we are.

“I really look forward to the game and we can show we are not the team that we were when we met them last year down there because we have improved.

“My players cannot wait to show that.”