Luke Thomas hopes his Bristol Rovers side can put on a show at The Memorial Stadium this Saturday when they play Exeter City in Sky Bet League One.
The Pirates have lost their previous five fixtures in the third tier, with four successive defeats coming by a singular goal. The last two were especially agonising for the Gas, who created the better chances against Birmingham City before falling to a late 2-1 loss to the Blues before coming out on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline away to Bolton Wanderers last weekend.
As a result, Rovers are only three points above Burton Albion, with the Brewers just inside the relegation zone, having played one fewer match.
Despite recent disappointments, the Gas have won five matches at The Mem under Iñigo Calderón, with Thomas emphasising the importance of the home fans.
“I think we’ve been really good at home,” said the winger. “That’s where we’ve got most of our points. We’ve been disappointing away. The crowd here, they get right behind us, and they really are the twelfth man. Hopefully, on Saturday, they can do the same, and we can put a show on and do the business.”
He later added: “The fans are massive. They are tremendous at home and tremendous away from home. We really, really need them this Saturday and hopefully, they can carry us over the line.”
Exeter have twice got the better of Rovers this season, beating the Gas 3-2 at The Mem in the Vertu Trophy before a 3-1 triumph at St James Park on Boxing Day, where Calderón watched on from the stands after being appointed as the Pirates’ head coach.
It was an unfortunate defeat for Rovers, who led through Promise Omochere and had plenty of other chances to score before the Grecians completed an impressive comeback. Gary Caldwell’s men are in fifteenth, but only seven points separates the teams, meaning a win for Rovers would pull them close to their upcoming opponents in the table.
Thomas knows the difficulty of the upcoming match and the need to get a first win in six outings.
“It’s a really tough game,” said Thomas. “We’ve had some good moments against them and bad moments. They are a really good team. Obviously, they are going to come with a game plan, and it’s down to us as players to break them down and [get] a much-needed three points.
“I think it’s a really big game for both sides. We need the win more than them, but I don’t think they’ll be looking at it like that. Both teams will be trying to go for the three points, and hopefully, we can come out on top.
“We’re at the wrong end of the table, but we’ve got something to play for, and it means everything. We can’t get relegated. That’s been spoken about a lot, and I’m sure the lads are ready, and we’re going to put on a show on Saturday.”
To start the Easter holidays, Rovers fans were invited to watch the men's first team train at The Mem, with around 300 Gasheads coming to watch before getting autographs and taking pictures with some of their favourite players.
Thomas enjoyed the experience and expressed the need for everyone to be ‘connected’ heading towards the end of the campaign.
“It was really good to be in front of the fans and let them watch us,” he stated. “All the kids as well. Hopefully, they enjoyed it, and obviously, it was really good to train on the pitch and get more used to it, ready for Saturday.
“I think with the situation we’re in; we need everyone connected and on the same page. So, that was really good.”
