Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough expects Bristol Rovers to be in the League Two promotion mix this season.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's opening day clash at Field Mill, Clough rated Joey Barton's side as "one of the promotion favourites" and believes the game will indicate the Stags are in their development.
The bookmakers rate Rovers' as second favourites for the League Two title, behind big-spending Salford City, although Joey Barton's recent court hearing has created some uncertainty at the Mem.
“We saw Bristol Rovers last Saturday and they changed their formation at half-time, so it is difficult to read into what they will do,” Clough told the Mansfield Chad.
“It is good to be at home against one of the promotion favourites in the first game. They will be very strong and they will be up there. They will be a good gauge of where we are at.”
The formation shift Clough references is Rovers sending Josh Grant into midfield and switching from a three-man defence to a back four in the second half, with Barton eager for his side to be flexible in games.
With more than 1,000 Gasheads already snapping up tickets for Saturday's game, there promises to be a party atmosphere at Field Mill after close to 18 months of football behind closed doors
“The fans have got a big part to play, but we have to give them something to get behind us,” Clough added.
“There will be a lot of excitement, but that can easily dwindle. The team has to give the crowd something.
“We got a taste of the atmosphere against Coventry and it will be great to walk out to the noise.
“Bristol Rovers will sell out their allocation, which makes for a good atmosphere. We had forgotten what it was like to play in front of crowds and it was a nice reminder against Coventry.”
Clough admits his side will need to make a better start than last season, with a poor beginning to the campaign costing former Rovers boss Graham Coughlan his job at Mansfield.
“It's important to get off to a good start,” he added. “We were up against it last season and we could never realistically challenge the top seven over a long enough period.
“You can't win it in the first few months but you can give yourself too much to do. If you get off to a good start the crowd gets behind you.
“We want to carry on where we left off last season. We played some great football and scored some great goals.
“We want our play to be of the same standard. We are looking forward to the whole season and are all excited.
“There's plenty to be excited about. We have been encouraged by how we have played in the last two week.
“We got what we wanted out of pre-season.”
