Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Kilgour is back to help injury-hit Rovers side
BRISTOL Rovers assistant manager Chris Hargreaves has explained why defender Alfie Kilgour has been called back from his loan at National League side Maidenhead this week.
Kilgour, 20, who is yet to make his senior debut for Rovers, joined the Magpies in November and has made quite the impression, racking up 18 appearances after making his debut for his loan club in the FA Cup against League One promotion-chasers Portsmouth.
However, he returned to the Mem ahead of schedule on Thursday evening and is even in contention to make the 18-man matchday squad at Scunthorpe due to injury concerns in defence.
Hargreaves said: “We are a little bit thin on ground and so we want to reward him by bringing him back.
“He goes into the squad, and he is another player we have got high hopes for, and I am looking forward to him being with us.”
With Joe Partington pulling out of the warm-up in the 2-0 defeat to Sunderland on Tuesday night in the semi-final of the Checkatrade Trophy, which saw James Clarke come in at right-back, plus Rollin Menayese out on loan at Aldershot, the Pirates find themselves short of options at the back.
That situation will be exacerbated should skipper Tom Lockyer get called up to the Wales squad, as is expected, to take on Trinidad & Tobago on March 20, and Slovakia on March 24. Rovers play Plymouth Argyle at Home Park on March 23.
Kilgour has scored three goals from centre-back at Maidenhead, including a vital 94th-minute leveller in Maidenhead’s 1-1 draw at home to Dagenham & Redbridge on Tuesday.
Hargreaves added: “Alfie has had a really good spell at Maidenhead. Alan Devonshire (Maidenhead boss) has been really pleased with him. I have seen him many times and he has done himself a world of good.”
Before stepping up to become Rovers’ assistant manager under Graham Coughlan, when Darrell Clarke and Marcus Stewart left the club in December, Hargreaves led the club’s development squad, working closely with Kilgour.
Despite last weekend’s 4-0 victory over Blackpool, Rovers remain in the League One drop zone, although they are just two points behind both Oxford and Walsall and, remarkably, only six points behind Wycombe, who are in the top half of the table.
Indeed, should results go their way today and in the coming midweek, Rovers could be level on points with Wycombe come Tuesday night if they can beat Scunthorpe today and follow up at Gillingham on Tuesday night.