Lino Sousa stated Bristol Rovers' 1-0 win over Cambridge United in Sky Bet League One is a ‘step forward in the right direction.’
The Gas collected their first victory since beating Mansfield Town in late November thanks to Luke Thomas’ first-half header, with the visitors surviving some late pressure from the U’s to keep their eighth clean sheet in all competitions.
The Pirates are now five points clear of the relegation zone after earning their first victory under new head coach Iñigo Calderón.
Sousa, who is on loan from Premier League side Aston Villa, has started the last two matches at left-back and was delighted with the victory.
“I’m happy,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming, to be fair. The boys dug deep. It was a bit of a scrappy game, but it’s a step forward in the right direction.”
It has been a difficult period for Sousa, who has only recently returned after missing two months of the campaign with a hamstring injury. However, he has impressed upon his return to the side with his attacking intent and had a part to play in Rovers’ winning goal.
He raced out of the defence before laying the ball down the left to Sinclair, who got to the byline and provided the cross for Thomas’ goal.
Sousa was pleased to have a role in the win and admitted it feels even better after working hard to return from injury.
“It was a good feeling to play a part in it and play a part in the winning team as well,” he said. “It’s things we work on in the training ground, and you obviously try and implement it on the pitch on game day.
“It’s been tough with injuries and being out. It’s mental resilience and things in football change very quickly. I kept myself fit to the best shape I could be, and a lot of work done behind the scenes. It’s finally paying off. I’ve just got to keep the momentum going.
“It’s a way better feeling after all the hard work, early mornings, late nights, all the sacrifices you make being away from family. Coming in on a matchday and getting a win makes it even better.”
Rovers had been winless in their last seven outings in League One before beating Cambridge but had displayed positive signs recently. The Gas were unfortunate to come away without anything from closely contested matches against Exeter City and Leyton Orient, either side of their 3-0 away defeat to Stevenage.
Sousa insisted that his side cannot hide away from the situation they are in and that everyone must stick together.
“We are where we are,” said the defender. “There’s no shying away and hiding away from that, but we know we’re good enough as a group, as a team, to get out of it. So, all we can do is stick together, keep getting three points where we can and keep moving forward.”
Sousa has played in all three games under Calderón since the Spaniard was appointed as Rovers’ head coach on Boxing Day. The 19-year-old has been impressed with the Spaniard and is looking forward to getting more time on the training pitch after a busy period around Christmas.
“He’s implemented his playing style and how he works early doors,” said Sousa. “The team trusts what he does, and I think you can see that by how we play. He makes things simple for us, and he knows what he wants out of us, and we just try and deliver for him.
“He came in at a busy period, so it was hard for him to properly implement what he wanted us to do, but given that the next game is a week away now, we’ve got a few days on the training pitch to properly go through things and go into a bit of detail, which will only help us on a matchday on the pitch.”
