'They're a fantastically well-drilled team by Steve Evans'
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Fleetwood Town head coach Matt Lawlor said, "It's full steam ahead in terms of Bristol Rovers," adding that "home has been an absolute sanctuary for us," following his side's penalty shootout victory against the Premier League champions, Arsenal, at Highbury Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The Cod Army progressed to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, beating Mikel Arteta's side 5-3 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes.
It means Fleetwood have lost only one out of 11 home matches in all competitions this season, and they will be looking to continue that impressive form when they host the Gas this weekend.
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"It’s an amazing feeling still, for everyone connected with the club and what we achieved, and whatnot," he said to BBC Radio Lancashire when discussing the victory against the Gunners.
"But, yeah, full focus to, obviously, this is our first day back in training, obviously, we had the day off yesterday, which was planned, and always going to happen the day after a night game.
"So for us, it's full steam ahead in terms of Bristol Rovers, but yeah, an amazing night on Tuesday. Hopefully, it will lead to an amazing day on Saturday."
He added: "We just need to get back on the horse, make sure that our bread and butter, we're at home. I think we've got six out of the next eight games at home, I think, someone told me that this morning. I'll have to double-check that.
"But home has been an absolute sanctuary for us in terms of results and being really hard to beat and winning. And I think we've only lost one since March at home, which is an incredible record."
On Wednesday, the draw for the last eight was revealed, and Fleetwood will host Everton in mid-December after the Toffees beat Newcastle United 3-1 last night. "I'm delighted it’s at home, to give the fans yet another opportunity to see an amazing football club," Lawlor said when discussing the upcoming cup tie against David Moyes' side.
"I love the feeling of being at home under the lights, and I think we’ve been really good at home. It's a crazy sentence to say, but we’ve managed to get to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup."
For now, attention turns to League Two, and Fleetwood will be looking to secure only a fourth win in the division after a mixed start, leaving them in 18th with 14 points after 13 matches. They remain tough to beat at home, though, and since April 2026, they have only lost once at Highbury Stadium.
When discussing Saturday's test against Steve Evans' side, Lawlor said: "Yeah, I looked at them yesterday a lot. Really well-drilled team, they've had a tough run of late.
"I thought they were really good value for the point on Saturday against Swindon. Possibly could have got more in the end.
"But listen, they went on a generational run last year. They had 11 wins in a row. It doesn't happen, like, 11 wins in a row, I think they won 11 at home as well, carrying over to the start of the season.
"Yeah, they're a fantastically well-drilled team by Steve Evans. A lot of players that I would have been interested in the summer that we could nowhere near get to financially, will be at Bristol [Rovers].
"They've got a squad full of proper talent. Well-drilled, experienced boys that we know what we're going to come up against.
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"So, physical team, really physical team that are physically capable to get about the pitch, compete, and compete for a massive proportion of the game. So we're looking forward to it.
"It's a completely different task to Tuesday in terms of style and completely different in terms of, obviously, stature, but one of the better clubs in our league, the bigger clubs in our league, and I know they'll bring a big following.
"And I'll get my boys ready after this meeting, after this interview for our meeting, to tell them that we're going up against - they know about Bristol Rovers anyway, but it's going to be a tough task."
Rovers will be hoping that history repeats itself as they beat Grimsby Town 1-0 last season a few days after the Mariners had knocked out Manchester United in the Carabao Cup on penalties. The Gas travelled to Blundell Park and secured all three points thanks to a Macauley Southam-Hales strike in the first-half.
The Pirates have struggled on the road this season, though, losing five out of their first six away league matches, with Evans saying in Thursday's press conference, "I'd take a draw, of course I'd take a point, because we're on a losing sequence away from home."