Matt Taylor has insisted that it was the right time for Bristol Rovers to sell Antony Evans to Huddersfield Town this summer ahead of potentially coming up against the old Gas favourite this weekend.
After being named Rovers’ player of the season in his third and final campaign in BS7 last term, Evans made the move to then-recently relegated Huddersfield in July for a fee understood to be in the region of £450,000.
The attacking midfielder was part of the League Two promotion winning side before helping the Gas re-establish their place in League One with his best season coming last year as the 26-year-old scored 10 goals and provided nine assists while making the most appearances across all competitions with 52.
Since making the move back north, Liverpool-born Evans has scored twice for the Terriers but was an unused substitute in their last League One match, a 2-0 win over Barnsley which put an end to a surprising run of four consecutive defeats.
Whether or not he’ll start against his former side on Saturday is yet to be seen but Taylor and co. are fully aware of the quality the midfielder possesses, with the Rovers manager saying: “He did so well for this football club which is why we got such a good fee for him. It was his time and the right time for him to move on to pastures new. We wished him all the best when it did happen and we still wish him all the best.
“We don’t know what capacity he’ll feature in at the weekend but we know when he’s on the pitch that he’ll be a serious threat at any time, let alone dead ball situations.
“Everyone knows Evo far too well in terms of his success here. We have to find a way of keeping him and several others quiet at the weekend.”
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As aforementioned, the run of four losses on the bounce certainly wasn’t forecasted from the outside with Huddersfield strongly backed to be in and amongst the automatic promotion race having been relegated from the Championship last season.
Under the management of Cheltenham Town legend Michael Duff, the West Yorkshire outfit have won five and lost five of their opening 10 league matches. However, four of those victories came within the first five outings before the win over Barnsley stopped the rot of four defeats in a row.
Northampton Town and Blackpool secured victories at the John Smith’s Stadium during that run while Reading and Birmingham City also ran out victorious on their own patches. However, despite Huddersfield experiencing an under par start to the campaign, Taylor was still full of praise for Rovers’ opponents this weekend.
“On the back of two wins, one in the cup and one in the league, both against Barnsley, but had that period similar to ourselves really,” the Gas manager exclaimed. “If Huddersfield can lose four games on the bounce then it probably shows you what the league’s about and how difficult it is because [they’re] a strong team at the level. Incredible squad. Some serious players. A lot of players who’ve played Championship level consistently before.
“You’d expect them to be in and around it come the end of the season but a good opportunity because it’s a fantastic pitch, a good place to play football and on the back of the last two league games we’re feeling okay about ourselves.”