Jonathan Mitchell is excited to return home with Rovers as they travel to Hartlepool United in Sky Bet League Two on Tuesday.
The goalkeeper was born and raised in the north east town and played for United last season prior to joining Rovers.
Mitchell on coming up against his hometown club:
“It’s going back home for me on Tuesday.
“I made my professional debut there in 2016 in the FA Cup for Derby. I’ve played there before and I played for them briefly.
“I’ve got family members going so I’m looking forward to it.
“Almost selfishly, you want to get one over and get the bragging rights on them.
“I’ll probably get a load of abuse from my mates in the corner! I wouldn’t expect anything bad or any sort of homecoming either really.”
On Hartlepool:
“It’s really locally supported. They’re passionate up there and really want to see the team do well.
“They haven’t had the best of starts and hopefully we can take advantage of that and continue our good run that we’ve put together and get another three points.
“They’re organised and their games are tight. Their game against Mansfield was tight.
“There are no easy games in this league but we’re confident we can go there and make our mark, put our stamp on the game and come home with all three points.
On the good run of form for Rovers:
“I think it shows we’ve got a lot of character and talent in the team. We’re a close, honest group.
“We knew to lose three in a row wasn’t ideal but it’s a long season and we knew we were good enough to bounce back from it and go on another run like we started the season with.
“We’d all love to be playing free-flowing football, having the lion’s share of possession and be outplaying teams but I think it’s difficult in this league. It’s a battle and you’ve got to earn the right to play.
“The points are the most important thing over performance. We’re all striving for perfection and the perfect performance wherever possible but the points are the main thing and sometimes you’ve just got to battle it out.”
On how League Two is shaping up:
“I think ten games is still early, especially for teams that have had a really good start or a really bad one. There’s always time for things to change.
“You get a general idea. We want to be higher in the league but there is a lot of time, it’s still early doors.
“With changes in teams, personnel and managerial changes, it affects things. It’s still early on.”