Ben Garner is certain Saturday’s 2-0 win over Northampton Town is just the beginning for his young Bristol Rovers side.
The Gas came on strong in the second half at the Mem and seized the points with goals from Brandon Hanlan and Jack Baldwin to earn their first win of the season.
Garner has faced increased criticism from supporters after a five-game winless run to start the campaign, but he believes the victory over the 10-man Cobblers, who had former Rovers defender Joe Martin sent off on the hour, will give his side a much-needed confidence boost.
“We played well,” Garner said. “Tactically we were excellent, we know the problems they pose and how strong and organised they are and I thought we dealt with that very well.
“My only real criticism for the game was that we only scored two, it could’ve been a lot more.
“I think that win gives more confidence than I ever could to the players. We’re in a much better place now, we’ll have a bit of momentum and confidence and as I’ve said over the past few weeks, this team’s only going to get better.
“I’ve got huge faith in them and the majority of them are only going to improve with time, so the more wins we get the more confident they’re going to get. We’ve just got to build and build.
“It was a long time coming, but I’m obviously delighted for the players and the staff. From day one of pre-season everybody has been absolutely fantastic so we’ve been desperate for that win to get off the mark.”
Hanlan got the crucial breakthrough for the Gas, winning a penalty after a superb piece of direct centre-forward play which forced ex-Rovers defender Cian Bolger to bundle the striker to the floor.
The summer signing from Gillingham, 23, picked himself up and emphatically dispatched his spot on 55 minutes. It was his first goal for the Gas and his manager was delighted with his performance.
“I thought he (Brandon) was excellent today,” Garner said. “I think with Brandon and a couple others like Josh Hare and David Tutonda it’s been a case of getting them up to speed and up to match fitness.
“You know, we’ve had to do that in competitive games over this period so Brandan Hanlan is only going to get better.
“He’s got fantastic work-rate, great ability and he’s very, very coachable and only wants to learn.”
Garner was also full of praise for Baldwin and Tutonda, who made their league debuts for the Gas.
The manager continued: “(Jack’s) trained like a beast, he’s been outstanding in training and just been outstanding in training, waiting for that opportunity, he took it today so I’m really pleased with him.
“David is one of the humblest players I’ve ever met, great strength, very comfortable on the ball and defended very well today.
“For a full league debut for the club it doesn’t get much better than that.”
