The 35 year old scored a brace in Bristol Rovers' dramatic win but his current contract expires in January

Matt Taylor has confirmed that he has “had conversations” with Bristol Rovers striker Chris Martin about his future at the club after the 35-year-old, whose contract expires in January, scored a brace from the bench to help the Gas sign off 2023 in style.

The visitors got off to a stronger start than the hosts, with golden boot contender Alfie May, who Rovers lost out on acquiring in the summer, hitting the crossbar after less than two minutes. The Gas, on the other hand, surged into the game as the half progressed, getting the ball in the net through Tristan Crama before the linesman ruled it out for an offside interference by Aaron Collins.

With the game still goalless approaching the hour-mark, Taylor opted for a change up top, putting on Martin for John Marquis. Ten minutes later the veteran was spinning away in delight after guiding home his sixth goal for Rovers since entering as a free agent in September with a composed finish.

A late blunder allowed another substitute, this time for Charlton, Slobodan Tedic, to equalize with the game appearing poised for a 1-1 draw, as it had three days previously on Boxing Day before Luke Thomas struck a 94th minute winner against Portsmouth. It was déjà vu as the Gas bagged another 94th-minute winner through Martin to seal the points and move up to ninth position.

It’s no secret that, as things currently stand, Martin will no longer be a Bristol Rovers player after signing a short-term contract that is set to expire on January 26. However, without giving too much away, it did sound as though Taylor would like to see the 35-year-old’s deal extended until the end of the season at least.

When asked about Martin’s future, the Gas manager remarked after the game, “We’ve had conversations.” They will be kept confidential. We’re hoping for a happy outcome for everyone concerned. We want good players at our football club, and he is one of them.

“We have to say how well John’s done and even in that first 50-odd minutes of the game working tirelessly for the cause and for the team but from that point on I certainly felt that we needed a slightly different profile and we had so many final third entries. If there’s one thing I can guarantee it’s that Chris Martin will be on the end of them in the right place at the right time.

“We’ve got so many players that want to be involved in our build, we need the ones that will get on the end of the tap-ins. They were difficult finishes, of course they were but Chris gave us that. He also gave us a bit of a platform to go into and then our midfielders, certainly Grant Ward, got a little bit of joy from that. But that is where the squad needs to be.

“John had three goals in his previous four games before today, and Chris came in and scored two.” I’d want to see a firing front line. When I got the job, you all asked me the same questions: “How do you get this attacking group moving and feeling good about themselves?” “They’re doing it themselves and starting to do that, and hopefully now competition for places will drive that.”

The 41-year-old was also full of praise for his team’s attitude and character for orchestrating another late performance at the Mem when both sides appeared to be destined for a 1-1 draw.

It’s fair to say that the immediate aftermath of the Portsmouth win will have been more exciting given that they’re top of the league and haven’t lost away from home in League One all season, but make no mistake, this is another crucial victory given that, as Taylor has repeatedly stated, Rovers are “playing catch up.”

“I thought we were dominant without being ahead in the score line [in the first half],” the Gas manager stated of his team’s performance. Except for the offside goal and a couple ricochets and blocks, we didn’t put enough pressure on their goalkeeper in the first half. To be honest, the second half was a lot more level. They had a threat on the break, for sure. But when we were ahead, you always had the feeling that there would be a great moment or a mistake that would allow them back into the game. Unfortunately, we made a mistake, and there’s no better moment to score than the last minute.

“I just said to them there, huge personality, I think it was from Sam and Antony on the ball to slide it through to Azza and Chris being on the move in the box because we were all expecting the ball to be clipped in towards the big centre-half under pressure at the time.” That’s a strong personality. It demonstrates trust in the organization and its talents.

“Football is a reactive, instinctive sport.” It is not for coaches like myself to minimize it, and the players must play freely, and if they see something that they believe will help the team, they must execute it, which they surely did in that moment.
That’s a pressured moment, especially in the last minute where, like I say, you maybe expect a safer route but the dividends were huge for us.”

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The 35 year old scored a brace in Bristol Rovers’ dramatic win but his current contract expires in January

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