Lee Mansell brings to Rovers a wealth of experience, gained from more than 400 games, and will also offer some much-needed know-how in Rovers' bid to bounce back from relegation to the Conference at the first time of asking. Mansell said: "It will be a very long, tough and physical season. Every side will be looking at Bristol Rovers as the so-called big boys and that will make players even more determined to make a statement in games against us. What is vitally important is the ability to cope with the mental side of things because you go from playing in front of 6,000 fans one week to a game in front of 900 the next. We need to be ready for that very early on because it will most certainly not be a case of steamrollering this team or that team because they play at a small ground or do not have a massive number of fans. If anyone gets caught up in that mind-set they will be in for an almighty shock. We were relatively successful during those two seasons at Torquay because we accepted that we were where we were for a reason and we got our heads around that very early on." Torquay only failed in their bid to bounce back at the first attempt following a play-off semi-final defeat at the hands of West Country rivals Exeter City. The following season started badly before they recovered to embark on a long unbeaten run to eventually secure promotion with a 2-0 victory over Cambridge United in the play-off final, and Mansell recalled: "It was a great achievement. It would be fantastic to do the same here and be a part of a team that is responsible for getting a great club like Bristol Rovers back into the Football League. There will be massive pressure on us before a ball is kicked, but that is understandable because promotion is the aim and every player who turns up for pre-season training on Monday knows that. I wouldn't have moved my family from Torquay if I didn't think Bristol Rovers were capable of making a challenge." Taken from the Post.
I think Mansell comes here with some form, too because Torquay were flying at the end of the season. Hopefully he can help to instil that drive and enthusiasm to get us back where we belong.
