‘Well, I’ve seen Steve’s comments and he shouldn’t speak like that.’ – Steve Evans responded to Steve Cotterill’s comments concerning Isaac Hutchinson who is on loan at Cheltenham Town(Image: Phil Oldham/Shutterstock)

Steve Evans was impressed with his side’s performance, but ultimately felt “frustrated” after Bristol Rovers were unable to beat Crewe Alexandra at the Mornflake Stadium, despite playing an hour against ten men. Emre Tezgel scored the opener after only nine minutes for Lee Bell’s side, but the Gas responded three minutes later through Callum Morton.

Crewe were forced to play 60 minutes with ten-men following Adrien Thibaut’s red card for violent conduct on Clinton Mola. Rovers came close to winning the game, with Luke Thomas denied by Sam Waller and Kamil Conteh hitting the post in the 71st minute. Still, the 1-1 draw brings an end to a ten-match losing run in the league – the worst in the club’s history.

READ MORE: Bristol Rovers losing run ends with draw in Steve Evans’ first gameREAD MORE: Bristol Rovers players need to take opportunity to impress Steve Evans

Reflecting on the game, Evans said: “Yeah, listen, I think it’s a game that in summary in its totality, we go away frustrated, disappointed, because I don’t think there’s any doubts that, as much as we controlled the start of the game and then Crewe scored against the run of play, we got a goal quickly back, which is a sign of a good characters in the dressing room, and then we just totally dominated the whole half, and that was good, and you’re looking to build on that.

“But I think in fairness to the Crewe boys for 15 minutes in the second half, I think, early in the second half, they controlled the game, they took over and they seemed to find the extra little pass and they’re technically very good. So, sometimes playing a Crewe side with ten or 11 isn’t really going to be such a difference. But we pulled the boys aside on a water break and someone was down injured and we changed the shape again, and that worked.

“Then we got on top of the game, with three or four – two really good chances, you say we should score comfortably, and two half-chances, and we hit the inside of the post. And we don’t really give up a chance to the opposition, so that’s a plus. I know they had a couple of long throws and a couple of balls into the box, but they never really landed anywhere near their players.”

(Image: Phil Oldham/Shutterstock)

The 63-year-old was also asked about Isaac Hutchinson, who left the club to join Cheltenham Town on loan on 1st September. Hutchinson has excelled on loan for Steve Cotterill’s side, scoring seven and registering three assists in 15 appearances for the Robins.

Earlier in the week, Cotterill was asked about Hutchinson and the possibility of Rovers recalling him, now that Evans has replaced Darrell Clarke. Cotterill said: “I know Isaac wants to stay here and he’s come to see me twice to reiterate that, so I’d imagine he’ll have a certain amount of say.

“It’s not necessarily our decision and if they recall him there isn’t a lot we can do about it; it’s out of my hands and we’ll have to go and find somebody else.

“But you can only play for two clubs in one season and Isaac has already played for Bristol Rovers and us.

“If one club doesn’t want him to go back, or the other club wants him to stay, normally it gets left with the player. I’m pretty relaxed about it.”

He added: “I don’t know if it’s necessarily the change of manager because there was an issue between the fans and Isaac at some stage.

“I haven’t delved into it because it’s none of my business. It would be nice if he can stay and he’s signed a season-long loan, but sometimes you have to respect what the other club wants in terms of a break clause.

“They’ve got some good players and a really good squad there, so the other thing is: if you do bring somebody back, does he get in the team? I don’t know the answer to that.”

In response to Cotterill’s claims about the 25-year-old, Evans said: “Well, I’ve seen Steve’s comments and he shouldn’t speak like that. That’s all I’ve got to say about that. He shouldn’t talk about, whether he gets recalled or whether he doesn’t.

“The player been in his office, ‘don’t send me back’, you know, but what Steve Cotterill does with his business, but he shouldn’t be talking about what happens at Bristol Rovers. That’s got no concern to Steve Cotterill. You keep your own business on Cheltenham. I’m not going to talk about Cheltenham, I’ll keep one focus on Bristol Rovers.”

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Promise Omochere and Ellis Harrison were both left out of the squad for the third league game in a row, leaving Rovers with Fabrizio Cavegn, Ollie Dewsbury, and Morton as the three striker options.

When asked about the availability of Omochere and Harrison, Evans said: “Yeah, we’re certainly not hopeful for Boxing Day, but we’re certainly hopeful for the 29th, and we’re certainly hopeful for the 1st [January], but we’re hopeful. I tend to leave the decisions to the medical boys. Sometimes you have to put a little bit of leave, leave a little bit of pressure on. But there’s no point in having someone as good as the medical team here, and I’ve only assessed them in what has been for a couple of days, but they’re very good. And so, you know, we’re hopeful for Bromley.”

Tonight’s game against the Railwaymen was Rovers’ last before Christmas, with home games against Bromley and Barnet followed by trips to Shrewsbury Town and Barrow within the space of nine days from Boxing Day onwards.

READ MORE: Cheltenham Town boss Steve Cotterill addresses Isaac Hutchinson future amid Bristol Rovers recall talkREAD MORE: Every word Bristol Rovers head coach Steve Evans said in first press conference