Steve Evans has lashed out at Salford City and their ‘lack of fans’ ahead of Bristol Rovers‘ midweek clash at home against the League Two leaders.
The Gas have tailed off from their impressive start to the season, with four losses in their last five games leaving them seven points off the Ammies ahead of their trip down to the Memorial Stadium.
🗣️ Steve Evans reflects on our defeat to Shrewsbury Town… pic.twitter.com/UyEtPhCrP2
— Bristol Rovers (@Official_BRFC) October 17, 2026
Evans Discusses Salford Transfer Poaches
Speaking ahead of the showdown against Peter Cklamovski’s side tomorrow night, Rovers boss Steve Evans has lifted the lid on some of his failed transfer dealings in the summer, with two players taken from under his nose due to better contract offers.
In an interview with Bristol Live in the wake of the 1-0 loss against Shrewsbury Town, the 63-year-old put his next opponents in his crosshairs.
“The home crowd know the money that Salford have spent. You only need to look at the players they’ve signed.
“They’ve paid them big wages. We know. We had two in our training ground for talks. When you’re talking about trebling wages, then you have to understand why those boys would decide to go there.
Macca’s brace, both laid on a plate by Kallum Cesay 🫡 pic.twitter.com/ti7WuG9xE8
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) October 18, 2026
“You know, they’ve got a lack of fans, they’ve got a lack of everything at the football club, in terms of facilities, everything else, but people don’t judge you on that.
“They judge you on results on the pitch, and the recruitment of Gary [Neville], and all the people below Gary at Salford have done a great job in putting that squad together.”
Fire Added To Must-Win Game
With Bristol Rovers flagging after a positive start to the season, now is the time for Steve Evans to rally his side before they flounder and fall even further behind in the League Two promotion race.
Salford City offer the biggest test that many sides will face on the pitch this season, with their transfer dealings putting them as comfortable pre-season favourites to clinch a place in League One next season, and they are finally living up to that billing.
Evans has now put a lot more heat into the contest with some incendiary comments, using the well-worn stick of Salford’s struggles to muster a regular match-going crowd to attack his next opponents.
Victory scenes 🏆 pic.twitter.com/diixOvmg71
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) October 17, 2026
That is now, of course, going to be used as motivation for Peter Cklamovski and his team to try and best a team that could challenge them for promotion, and it is up to Rovers as to whether they can get themselves a statement win before some pressure starts to mount on Evans.
The Mem has been a fortress for the Pirates so far this season, and if they can rally their fans behind a team which has had some struggles as of late, it could become one of the matches of the season.