Shaq Forde stated that he was excited to make his first start for Bristol Rovers’ before their trip to Reading in Sky Bet League One.
The forward was one of four players to come in for the game against Shrewsbury Town at The Memorial Stadium and assisted Jamie Lindsay's winning strike in the second half.
His contributed was part of a great performance on the right side of the attack, where he constantly provided a threat and looked to dribble past his marker at every opportunity.
Forde was the last of the Gas’ 16 summer signings and stated he joined the Club to start games after a difficult pre-season.
“I feel like Tuesday was a very good game for me, and I enjoyed it,” he said. “I’ve come here to be starting games, so to finally make my first start was an exciting one and I felt free on the pitch.
“It’s been a difficult start to the season for me because I haven’t had the full pre-season like I would have hoped I would have had.
“But it’s been a good experience, and I’ve enjoyed it. The boys are great here, so it’s been easy to feel like I’m still part of the group, even though fitness-wise, I may have been a few weeks behind.”
Forde was one of several attackers that joined Rovers in the summer, with Promise Omochere, Ruel Sotiriou and Gatlin O’Donkor moving to the Club. The former Watford man suggested that all the forwards have a good relationship and is looking forward to Chris Martin’s return.
“There’s a good relationship between us attacking players,” he said. “Even though there are a lot of us and we’re competing for the same shirt, we are still quite close.
“We’re all pushing each other, and I think having Chris Martin back in the side will only help us push forward.”
Rovers have been one of the teams in form in League One, winning three of their previous four games to start October brightly. Forde believes that the new-look Pirates side are moving in the right direction and hopes they can keep progressing after a good run.
“It’s a testament to how good the league is this season that we are 15th but only three points off the play-offs,” said Forde. “I feel like we are getting into the run of things, and the team has started to gel a bit after making a lot of new signings, but we’re starting to get to where we wanted to start, and hopefully, we can kick on.
Reading have also impressed under head coach Rubén Sellés, with the Royals winning four of their last five matches in the third tier to sit outside the playoffs on goal difference.
Forde stated that the contest against the Royals will be challenging but said he wants to make an impact.
“With the backing of the fans this week, it will be a good game and a tough challenge, but I feel like we will give it a good go,” he said.
“I hope I can get a couple of goals on Saturday, give them something to cheer about for the early kick-off, and hopefully they just have a good Saturday and weekend.”
