Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Reilly keen to maintain presence in the team
BRISTOL Rovers striker Gavin Reilly has said that things are “looking up” for him as the Pirates look to continue their run of success in League One today.
The Scottish player has struggled for form since moving to Rovers from St Mirren in July, but feels his game is improving after starting in the first XI for the last four League matches.
“The start of the season was really frustrating for me, not just for myself, but the team as well,” he said. “The last few weeks I’ve had a lot more starts and a lot more game time and things are looking up, so let’s see what can happen.
“We’ve been scoring a lot of goals recently, but at the other end we’ve been keeping a lot of clean sheets as well, so all in all the team has been performing a bit better.”
Reilly’s personal return to form has been shared by the team as a whole, who have won four of their last six games under the leadership of new manager Graham Coughlan. The striker said Coughlan, pictured left, has “freshened things up” and kept the squad on their toes in a competitive fight for selection.
“You don’t want players to get too comfortable because inconsistency and incompetence happens with that,” said the Scottish forward.
“You want to keep on fighting for places, and also doing well on the training pitch.”
It is not clear who will play up front when Rovers face Accrington Stanley in today’s away fixture.
But Reilly is hopeful of a fifth consecutive selection, although he has faith in the new manager to make the right call.
He said: “Wherever the gaffer wants me to play, I’ll play. If he puts me in goal I’ll play there.
“In terms of the League it’s been good to get four starts in a row and looking forward to (today), hopefully I get that fifth one.”
As well as success on the pitch, Reilly has become more content in his home life in a new city, with his family moving down from Scotland to be with him.
He said: “It’s good to get into the house and get sorted and my missus and my wee daughter are down now as well, so everything is a lot more settled.”