‘So it falls upon me and the Chairman to get this 100% right, and Ritchie is going to play a big part as well, as CEO.’
18:09, 18 Apr 2026Updated 18:09, 18 Apr 2026
Steve Evans, Manager of Bristol Rovers celebrates a goal with scorer Promise Omochere of Bristol Rovers during the Sky Bet League 2 Match between Tranmere Rovers and Bristol Rovers at Prenton Park, Birkenhead on 18th April 2026 – PHOTO: Steve Flynn/PPAUK
Steve Evans said that “it falls upon me and the Chairman to get this 100% right” following Ricky Martin’s departure yesterday, while praising the two substitutes – Promise Omochere and Yusuf Akhamrich – who scored second half goals as Bristol Rovers won their seventh league game in a row for the first time since 1953.
Omochere scored five minutes after coming on in the second half, but Jayden Joseph equalised for Tranmere Rovers in the 71st minute to set up a grandstand finish. Another substitute – Akhamrich – scored the winner in the 84th minute to give the Gas a seventh straight win in League Two.
“Yeah, listen, it was always going to be tough,” Evans said when reflecting on the victory at Prenton Park. “I think any time I’ve come to Tranmere Rovers, I don’t think I’ve ever had an easy game and in their current predicament, they’re certainly going to fight. They’re certainly giving Pete [Wild] a real shift, aren’t they? They’re competing all over the pitch.
“But my general thoughts was the first half was scrappy, we weren’t really dominating the ball as much as we should have done, and when we had good areas, we gave it away cheaply.
“And at half-time, obviously, we had to take Tommy off because he got a high and late dangerous challenge. It should be a red card. Referee deems it yellow, but we have to get on with it.
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“Tommy was struggling a little bit, so we took him off, he’ll be fine. It’s nothing other than a man problem. So everybody got kicked. But he’ll be fine as we go forward in a day or two. Second half, I think we controlled the game for long spells.
“We introduced the subs, obviously, but Promise does wonders, not only does he go and win the ball for us in a high-up area, but he then rolls two or three defenders, and has a finish as good as the Premier League. But we all know what Promise is capable of. We know that it’s about keeping him fit and on the pitch.
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“And it’s wonderful, with eight or nine hundred fans behind that goal and celebrating in front of them, and you could see what it meant to him.
“And then we went sloppy for the goal. We don’t track a simple runner into the box, and we don’t track a simple second runner into the box, and we concede. And if you do that, once, you’re probably going to concede. To do it twice, it’s poor, really, from our point of view, but we move on from it.
“But the one thing this group has got is fight, spirit, drive. I think, from after the goal, I’m probably expecting Tranmere to go on the offensive. But we went on the offence.
“As soon as we made the change, as soon as we bought the magician on, and he [Akhamrich] would have started today, but he just felt his groin a little bit yesterday.
Yusuf Akhamrich of Bristol Rovers celebrate scoring a goal to make it 1-2 during the Sky Bet League 2 Match between Tranmere Rovers and Bristol Rovers at Prenton Park, Birkenhead on 18th April 2026 – PHOTO: Steve Flynn/PPAUK
“The brilliant news, from my point of view, is that just the winning goal, but afterwards, when he said he didn’t feel a thing, when he went onto the pitch, so I think, on one occasion today, we got the substitutes right, and you’re right they’ve won us the game.
“And to go in afterwards, and to see our Chairman come in, our Chief Executive, and see what it means to them, and it just shows that we’re together on and off the pitch, and the fans tell us we’re together off it.
“They were outstanding today. I find it difficult to believe that there’s the amount of people that’s travelled to support us. So, thank you to everyone of them.”
The big news coming out of the club yesterday was that Director of Football, Ricky Martin, had left the club after just over a year. Rovers released a statement yesterday saying that Martin had left the club by “mutual consent”.
Speaking about his departure, the manager said: “I had a fantastic relationship with Ricky Martin, I can’t hide it. It was a strategic decision made by the board. I became aware of it, believe it or not, Thursday, when I had a call from our Chairman to explain the situation, and listen, all I know is, whoever the paymaster is, names the tune.
Bristol Rovers director of football, Ricky Martin during the EFL League One match between Bristol Rovers and Reading at The Memorial Stadium, Bristol on 26 April 2025 (Photo: Will Cooper/PPAUK)
“If they decide that they want to go in a different direction, there’s a board, but what I do know is, he won’t be replaced.
“So it falls upon me and the Chairman to get this 100% right, and Ritchie is going to play a big part as well, as CEO. So we’re going to have to work hard, and probably my thoughts of holidays in summer might have just disappeared, because Ricky would have been doing it.
“So, I don’t mind that, you have to work hard and work smart, if you want to be involved at the top end of the league.”
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Rovers only have two games to play, with the last home match of the season against Cheltenham Town next Saturday before a trip to Notts County on the final day.
Like Rovers, Cheltenham are mathematically safe and are looking ahead to next season, while the Magpies still have a shot at promotion, as they sit two points behind the final automatic promotion spot.
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