Clinton Mola insisted Bristol Rovers’ upcoming trip to Crawley Town in Sky Bet League One is the ‘perfect opportunity' to correct the Gas’ away form.
The Pirates travel to the Red Devils a week after a disappointing 5-0 defeat away to Lincoln City, where Rovers conceded four second-half goals to let the contest slip away and end their three-match unbeaten run in the third tier.
The defeat to the Imps was even more frustrating for the Gas after they collected back-to-back victories over promotion hopefuls Huddersfield Town and Bolton Wanderers at The Memorial Stadium.
Rovers have gone through a hectic schedule and have played a midweek match four times since the start of February but have had a clean schedule this week to give the players a well-deserved break. Mola stated everyone has been working hard in training to bounce back from the loss last Saturday and confessed that no midweek game has helped the team prepare for the next fixture.
“We’ve been working hard this week,” he said. “I know that’s a cliche, but we have, and we’re looking to put things right away from home on Saturday against Crawley.
“I feel like these weeks are always important for us and for the gaffer as well, so we can have a full week to prepare. The main thing is that we do put it right on Saturday.
“I feel like when you have Tuesday and Saturday games, it’s hard. You don’t have time on the training pitch. You have a game and one session; if that, it’s a recovery session, and then next, it’s a game. It is nice to have a full week of training, and hopefully, it puts us in the best shape for Saturday.”
Crawley are in 22nd place in the third tier, 12 points from safety after an eight-game winless spell. The Red Devils parted company with manager Rob Elliot on Wednesday, with former boss Scott Lindsey returning to the club. He will be looking for a reaction from his side after a successful spell last term, where he guided Crawley to promotion through the playoffs.
Mola praised Crawley and stressed the importance of the game and how his side start the fixture.
“They are a decent side,” said Mola. “They are where they are in the league at the moment, but we played them at The Mem, and it wasn’t an easy game. Not at all. They like to play football, and they can keep it. So, it’s important that we impose ourselves on them and we start strong because away from home it’s not been easy for us. I feel like it’s the perfect opportunity to put it right.
“As much as we know where they are, we know where we are as well, and we want to go there and make a statement. Our record away from home hasn’t been the best, but if we can start picking up points and picking up wins, I feel like it takes a lot of pressure off of all of us, and we’ll be looking in better form.”
The Gas are winless in their last seven away outings in all competitions, with Rovers’ previous victory on the road coming against Cambridge United at the start of 2025. Mola confessed he does not know why his team have found it difficult to collect points away from home but believes Rovers are ‘lucky’ another game has come around so quickly, so they can put last week's disappointments right.
“To be honest, I can’t really put a finger on it, but it’s one of the ones where we know it’s not good as a club, and in meetings, we speak about it a lot,” said the defender. “We just have to keep going. We’re lucky that we have another one on Saturday, to put it right, because after last week, it wasn’t good enough. We know that, and hopefully, we can put it right.”
Mola has been a consistent figure in the side recently and has started the last four fixtures in Rovers' defence. After a spell out of the side, the former Reading man is delighted to be back but stated the most important thing is that the team end the campaign strongly.
“It feels good to be back in, and of course, before the last game, the last couple of home games, to help the team in wins,” he said. “Last Saturday wasn’t great for all of us, but for me personally, it feels good to be back in the team and helping the team because I feel I can help the team. The main thing is that we finish off the season strongly, individually and collectively as well.”
