All the talk before a ball was kicked was that Bristol Rovers would be right up there challenging for automatic promotion in League Two.

That looked like it would be the case when the Gas reeled off four wins in their opening five games.

At that stage, manager Steve Evans – who took over in December 2025 and saved the club from relegation last season – was on a run of 15 wins from 19 league matches in charge of Rovers.

But they have since plunged down the table to 16th after just one victory in seven, including four straight defeats.

“It’s causing a lot sleepless nights,” Evans told BBC Radio Bristol – and said he has been having phone conversations with his assistant Paul Raynor at 3am.

“(But) let’s not get carried away with stats. We will bounce back for sure,” he added.

Rovers will hope they can do just that when they host Swindon Town, managed by Gas legend Ian Holloway, in a West Country derby on Saturday.

The Robins are tied on 15 points with Rovers and one place above their rivals on goal difference only and on Tuesday ended an eight-match winless run, in all competitions, by winning 3-1 at second-placed Barnet – a result nobody saw coming.

BBC Sport will have live text coverage of all the weekend’s EFL action, starting with Bolton v Middlesbrough (20:00 BST) on Friday and throughout Saturday’s fixtures across the Championship, League One and League Two.



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