Steve Evans set for talks on future after leading Bristol Rovers towards safety

Bristol Rovers manager Steve Evans will hold talks on his long-term future after the club’s League Two status was all-but guaranteed with a 1-0 home win over Fleetwood.

The result left Rovers 16 points clear of second bottom Barrow – who have six games left – and 15 ahead of third bottom Newport, who only have five matches remaining and have a much worse goal difference.

Evans should go into next week’s meeting with Rovers owner, the Kuwaiti businessman Hussain AlSaeed, in bullish mood as he was able to celebrate a fourth victory in a row thanks to substitute Joe Quigley’s second-half winner.

“I think we’ve got to firstly focus on Monday’s game with Harrogate who had a really good win today,” said Evans, who took over from Darrell Clarke last December when Rovers were in freefall.

“I was with the chairman for about half an hour before the game and there was no talk about meetings but I hope my phone’s ringing on Monday night, to have the meeting.

“We just need a clear plan but the one thing with our chairman is that he does have a clear plan.

“And I also have a plan. If I stay, then we have to be winning promotion. It’s as simple as that or I’ll go home.

“We were determined to win today and it’s brilliant for our chairman who has travelled from Kuwait, six or seven hours through a country that’s getting bombarded at times.

“He wanted to be here today because he said this was a monumental game if we could get the points.”

Evans reserved special praise for goalkeeper Brad Young, who came to his side’s rescue with a first-half penalty save to deny Ethan Ennis.

“For the first half of the season Brad’s done what a good number two would do and pushed the guy who’s taken the shirt,” Evans said.

“But since he’s come in, that sort of level of performance has been commonplace for me. He’s top class.

“I’m very critical of him on a Monday to Friday basis because I demand more. He’s got to keep fighting.”

Defeat was tough on mid-table Fleetwood, who enjoyed the better chances but paid the price for their lack of finishing prowess.

Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor said: “I feel really frustrated because a good performance hasn’t been translated into a good result.

“We need to start putting the ball in the back of the net and to convert the dominance we have and the chances that create.

“We had a penalty miss and three one-on-ones so frustration is my overall feeling.

“We just spoke about it in the changing room there. We can do everything that we did, play well and I’m getting bored of saying it myself, but we just need to put the ball in the back of the net now.

“It’s the hardest thing to score, but they have one set piece and score.”