Luke Thomas details key summer change that led to strong start to his season for Bristol Rovers

Luke Thomas is in a good run of form for Bristol Rovers and scored his first career brace against Newport County last weekend

Daniel Hargraves Bristol Rovers reporter

16:00, 12 Sep 2025

Luke Thomas celebrates with Bristol Rovers fans after the Gas’ 3-2 win at Newport County(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)

Just three players who made a league appearance for Bristol Rovers during the 2023/24 season remain contracted to the Gas – one of those is Luke Thomas.

The winger is into his fourth season in north Bristol across two spells having rejoined on a permanent basis in 2023 after being a part of the 2021/22 promotion squad as a loanee.

The then-24-year-old signed a three-year contract at the Mem, of which he currently finds himself in the final year.

Now 26, Thomas has had two contrasting seasons. The first was a career-best for goal contributions with 15. However, last term the forward found himself in and out of form and the team while he probably played every position but his preferred role.

With his first senior brace last weekend away at Newport County, the 26-year-old has already matched his tally for league goals last season and knows how important having a good campaign this year is.

“I just worked really hard this summer,” Thomas reflected to Bristol Live. “I’m going into the last year of my contract, I’m getting older. That shouldn’t be the excuse, but it’s a really big year for me.

“So yeah, this summer I worked really hard on the holidays and I actually got a coach that I was working with during one-to-one sessions on a regular basis. So yeah I found that to really help me in this early part of the season.

“I feel a lot sharper. I feel like I can move a lot better. I can get around the pitch now. I was in at the back post Saturday and I wasn’t doing that last season, so there’s definitely a difference.

“I think the way I took it [his second goal], I took it like I’ve done it for years, but that isn’t the case. I think obviously the confidence from the first one, just made sure I needed to take a good touch. And yeah, I wasn’t thinking of passing it, I was just thinking of the target here and it could go in. Luckily for me, it went in the back.”

Content cannot be displayed without consent

Change has been the only consistent factor at Rovers during Thomas’ time so far as a permanent Gas player. The winger has played for four different permanent managers in a little over two years while the only player still at the club who was a teammate when he returned two years ago is Jed Ward, currently on loan at Yeovil Town.

So far, things have looked promising for the wide man under Darrell Clarke. Thomas has started four of Rovers’ seven league matches this season and is currently in a strong vein of form after excellent performances against Cambridge United and Grimsby Town were followed up with the second half brace against Newport last weekend.

Bristol Rovers are preparing for a new season in League Two with Darrell Clarke back at the helm and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.

All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Gas, delivered straight to your inbox.

It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE

As a collective, the Gas are five matches unbeaten across all competitions having taken 10 points from their last four games in League Two, winning the last three. After a tricky two years, things are finally seemingly on an upward trajectory for the club.

“He’s been brilliant from day one and pre-season, to be fair,” the winger reflected on Clarke’s impact. “He gave me the confidence I needed. Like I say, he spoke to me every day, whether that’s on a training pitch or one-to-one. And yeah, he has been brilliant for me and hopefully, you know, I can continue to be better.

“Obviously what he’s done with the club before, I think that instantly got the fans on side. And like I say, we know what he is capable of, so good things and we’re certainly on the up.

“I think the coaches have really helped me, obviously really beneficial to me. It’s really helped. The last couple of seasons I’ve been doing different roles and I’m an attacking player and I feel like I can create stuff and hopefully this season I can be a bit more mature in front of goal and get lots of goals.

Bristol Rovers Live on Whatsapp

Join Bristol Rovers Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol Rovers stories sent straight to your phone

Bristol Rovers Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.

Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol Rovers news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.

To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.

We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.

To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.

If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to join our WhatsApp community.

“Definitely,” he added when asked about the Rovers head coach’s record of getting promoted out of League Two. “Not only that, but the track record of getting the best out of players. It’s still early days, so I’ve got a long way to go. But yeah, hopefully he can get the best out of me this season.

“The squad’s in a really good place at the moment. Obviously, we didn’t start the season the way we wanted to start, but we didn’t get too down about it. We knew we had to work hard and get better on the training ground. The last four weeks have been good to us.

“I think we’ve obviously brought in some really good characters. And yeah, we just seem a really tight-knit group this season, as you’ve seen in the games. I think we’re really working for each other, so yeah, long may that continue.”

Luke Thomas details key summer change that led to strong start to his season for Bristol Rovers

Tags: