Matt Taylor

"I really want Taylor to see the end of next season. There or there abouts will do me."

If he does, it'll mean almost certainly we'll see the similar league position or better...?

A tougher league next season on paper. That would be a decent start.

Would you have been ok with B***** in top ten too?

With CM top goalscorer?

Just asking...for a duckling.

Unfit to manage to you perhaps, but would you have been ok with it?

Matt Taylor expecting Antony Evans to stay on at Bristol Rovers after award-winning campaign..By Daniel Hargraves.

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Antony Evans was named Bristol Rovers Player of the Season 2023/24

Matt Taylor expects Antony Evans to be at Bristol Rovers next season on the back of an excellent campaign which earned the midfielder Bristol Rovers' Player of the Season award.

The 25-year-old has been vital for the Gas this term, making the most appearances (51) and playing the most minutes of any player (3,908) while also providing the most goal contributions with 19 across all competitions, 10 goals and nine assists.

In what has been an injury-hit campaign for Rovers as a collective, Evans' only absences have been down to suspensions for reaching yellow card thresholds and has started every match since February 24. In those 11 games, the midfielder has worn the captain's armband six times when Sam Finley has been absent with the skipper missing the past five matches and expected to depart this summer.

Asked about the 25-year-old's future, Taylor stated: "We expect Antony to be here next season. Congratulations to him on a fantastic season. Fully deserved in terms of winning those awards. He's been our stand out player.

"We had a conversation the other day, it's interesting because I don't think he started the season consistently in terms of game time so he's gotten stronger and stronger and we've probably worn him down. He's played so much, through a pain barrier at times. He's played through the odd injury.

"He's been a stalwart for myself and for the football club and the recognition he got in terms of awards, I would have liked more for him. I'd like his last two pens to go in and get to that double figure mark in terms of his goal return and more individual accolades because his effort certainly warrants that but we're looking forward to working with him next season and building a strong team around him."

Assuming that Evans is still a Rovers player come the start of the season, he will be entering the final 12 months of his contract which was the same situation that Aaron Collins would have faced had the Gas not sold the forward to Bolton Wanderers back in January. Collins was named last season's League One Player of the Season and the expectation was that there would be a fair bit of outside interest in the Welshman over the course of last summer but that surprisingly never proved to be the case before Bolton came in in January and Rovers opted to cash in while the forward was struggling for form.

Naturally, the hope will be that Evans extends his terms at the football club but currently there is no indication of that happening in the immediate future and it's no secret that the 25-year-old has established himself as one of League One's best midfielders which could well attract outside interest. Whether or not there will be is yet to be seen but Evans is still undoubtedly one of the Gas' most valuable assets and the more current deal goes down in length, the more necessary it will be for a conversation to be had regarding whether Rovers opt to cash in or get another season out of the playmaker before allowing him to depart for free next year.

Matt Taylor expecting a stronger League One next year as Bristol Rovers target competitiveness..By Daniel Hargraves.

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Matt Taylor has insisted that he expects League One to be "massively" more competitive next season based on the teams that have secured automatic promotion from League Two and which sides are currently in the Championship relegation dogfight. However, the Bristol Rovers manager is welcoming of the idea of a stronger division.

Already we've seen Taylor's former side Rotherham United's relegation back to the third tier confirmed with the Millers replacing Leam Richardson with Stevenage boss Steve Evans ahead of the summer. Meanwhile Stockport County, Wrexham and Mansfield Town have clinched the three automatic promotion places in League Two.

Rotherham are certainly what you would call yo-yo specialists having secured promotion at the first time of asking in their last four seasons in the third tier while the two other sides from the Championship that join them are expected to be giants at this level.

Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Birmingham City, Stoke City, Queen's Park Rangers, Plymouth Argyle, Blackburn Rovers and Millwall are all separated by just six points with three games remaining while the seventh team to come into League One will be decided via the League Two play-offs.

Asked if he believes the league will be stronger next season, Taylor declared: "Massively. Rotherham are down. Always strong in League One. Whoever else comes down from the Championship will be the strongest teams to start next season at our level and the three that are already up from League Two, incredibly strong. Not just in terms of club but financially backed as well and then you're looking at one more.

"So there's probably six teams who will make it stronger straight away and possibly a seventh so in terms of where we are in the reckoning, there are discussions to be had in relation to that. But what an exciting time and what a good league to look forward to."

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Bristol Rovers will face Stockport County, Wrexham and Mansfield Town next season after their promotions from League Two

Going into this campaign there was plenty of talk regarding the strength of the division being weaker compared to previous years with two of the clubs coming down from the Championship in Wigan Athletic and Reading starting the season on points deductions while three excellent sides in Plymouth, Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday were promoted. Even with Leyton Orient, Stevenage, Northampton Town and Carlisle United coming up from League Two, there wasn't widespread confidence that three of those sides would go on to have the impressive campaigns that they have had.

In terms of teams in this year's crop, Portsmouth's promotion as league winners was confirmed on Tuesday night while Carlisle's relegation has been confirmed for a couple of weeks now. Fleetwood Town appear to be all-but relegated while it seems to be a battle between Cheltenham Town, Cheltenham Town, Cambridge United and Cambridge United to avoid being in the two remaining places come next Saturday.

It also looks as though Derby County will be the other side that join Pompey in the automatic promotion places with the Rams able to seal their return to the Championship this weekend with a win at Cambridge and other results going their way but Bolton Wanderers and Rovers' opponents this weekend Peterborough United are still in the hunt.

Stockport and Wrexham, particularly the latter, are expected to be strongly backed financially and thus the Gas are certainly going to have major competition in the transfer market this summer as all 24 eventual sides look to construct as strong a squad as possible within their means. Of course, for Rovers that will likely involve a major overhaul of players with the club expected to be extremely busy in the recruitment department.

The club's hierarchy set out a target of reaching the Championship within three years and will no doubt be disappointed that Rovers were unable to threaten a potential play-off push as much as they would have liked but, with the teams that look set to be in the third tier next season, maintaining competitiveness and an upward trajectory in the league table will certainly be a tricky task.

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For some, that could be a daunting prospect but Taylor has insisted that the Gas just have to get on with it, admitting: "We are all going for the same players. There's a pool of players out there and you want the best ones but I guess that's part and parcel of football.

"So we've just got to know where we are, know where we're starting and know where we want to finish. But it's certainly, not a hindrance, but the competition is the market you're working in. You can't moan about it and people will always scowl a little bit towards the Wrexham's and possibly the Stockport's of the world but these teams were in non-league. Fantastic for those clubs to be out of non-league and into the Football League and then going through it.

"But then obviously they'll make the market and the competition and the levels stronger next season, of course they will. And they will be looking up as opposed to down so it should be a league to get excited about and certainly not to moan about if we've not got the strongest budget in the world. Let's just get on with it and see where it takes us."

Matt Taylor targeting 60-point mark as Bristol Rovers conclude campaign with Wigan Athletic trip..by Daniel Hargraves.

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Matt Taylor wants full focus to be on Bristol Rovers' final game of the season at Wigan Athletic this weekend before attentions turn to the major summer overhaul that is expected at the football club during the off-season.

Rovers can still reach the 60-point mark with a victory at the DW Stadium on Saturday which would also see them finish above their hosts in the League One table. It is already confirmed that the Gas cannot finish lower than 15th but also can't go higher than 13th with a top half finish now out of reach.

The Gas manager is due to report to work at The Quarters all of next week despite the season being over as plans for summer recruitment and the start of pre-season continue to take shape while the retained list is expected to be released on Tuesday. However, although what happens ahead of next season is at the forefront of every Gashead's mind, Taylor is looking for his team to finish the campaign as strongly as possible.
Asked how he's feeling now the end of a turbulent season is close to its conclusion, the Rovers boss said: "Interesting in terms of going into the end of this schedule and this season. We want to finish this season strongly, we want to get to that 60-point mark, we want to finish above our opponents at the weekend. But obviously it has been a tough few months.

"So much inconsistency and turbulence just in the way it’s gone, results wise but also the way the club’s been and I generally think this hangover feeling or this headache in the back of everyone’s minds about what’s to come at the end of the season and uncertainty. I think you’ve seen that with our performances with the players, with everything associated with this club and probably fans alike. But then when the end of one season appears, it’s how quickly then the focus will turn to next season but I want all the focus going into Wigan at the weekend and then my answer after the game will be totally different to right now.

"We’re a bit limited and hindered at the moment," Taylor added, "in terms of where that good comes from and what that good looks like but I was actually really pleased with the second half performance against Peterborough. Such a strong team we tried to get into and we had the best chances. We should have really gotten level in that game and then you never know, it’s in the balance. But then to concede a second so late on, just that feel of how that home game ended was a real shame.

"Going away from home to a team in relatively good form who have had ups and downs this season. It would be great to finish on a positive note."

The season as a whole will be reflected on as a disappointment and a missed opportunity by many but its transitional nature has undoubtedly made the job of managing Bristol Rovers tougher over the past couple of months. For virtually the entire second half of the season, it has felt as though focus has been directed more towards what happens once this campaign finishes as opposed to the present. As shown by the likes of Lincoln City, Leyton Orient, Wycombe Wanderers and Exeter City, an opportunity was there for Rovers to climb the league table and, in Lincoln's case, threaten the play-off positions but it wasn't taken.

Admittedly, a significant proportion of the squad have played with their immediate futures hanging in the balance which has undoubtedly made the past few months difficult with uncertainty looming. However, following Saturday that will all be put to bed as focus shifts towards a summer that the Gas have to get spot on from a recruitment perspective.

Although it can see Rovers climb up a few places with a positive result, nothing that happens against Wigan will cause major change regarding to how the campaign as a whole is perceived but a victory would take the Gas up to the 60-point mark which breaks another boundary.

"I still think the season will be perceived as not quite fulfilling our potential or not quite getting to the expected or the heights that we aimed for at the start or even when I first came in," Taylor admitted when asked if winning could at all change the way in which the season is reflected on. "I think we have to be honest and respectful in terms of that, even if we were to win at the weekend.

"But 60 points is a certain barrier at any level and probably puts you right in the middle of this league. It is a difficult one because I do feel like we’ve left a lot of points out there and more than the three points that we’re talking about this weekend.

"I’d like us to get to 60 points and I’d like us to finish the season strongly and on a high. The performances in the last couple of games have generally been okay if not getting better and better and I want the team to perform. But I think we all know that there are a few limitations in the squad, to no fault of their own, that’s important, but what I will say is whatever the reflection is I don’t think it’s fair to fully judge the players on the pitch at the moment when the team’s obviously weaker than what it might be at different stages."

Smegging hell 

Carry on Regardless

please release Matt Taylor.Don't inspire me.P.S what happened to our 60 point hopes.
Another thing the thought of him bringing his team into Rovers fills me with dread.
Loved to be proved wrong.