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Midfielder Ollie Clarke says the reception Bristol Rovers have received from their support in recent weeks has played a big part in a recent run of unbeaten games.

Rovers extended their run of games without a defeat to eight with a 2-0 win at Oxford United in front of 1800 travelling supporters, and Clarke said: “It gives you a bit of goose bumps to be received like that. We want to do as well as we can for the club and for the shirt and it means a lot to us when the fans are right behind us.

“We appreciate that support because it is difficult to put runs together when fans are not on your side.

“It feels great to repay them by winning an away game when we know they have paid a lot of money to come and see us play.”

Clarke, meanwhile, was serenaded off the pitch to a chorus of “one of our own” after opening the scoring in a victory that moved Rovers up to eighth place in League One.

“The manager devised a good game-plan and we executed it well,” he said. “I think we played well and got what we deserved.

“We know they are good on the ball so we pressed them as high up the pitch as we could to win it back as quickly as possible.

“I thought we did that well in the first 45 minutes to give us the platform we needed to go on and win the game.

“It has been frustrating to draw so many games lately, but we have played some of the top teams.

“The draws, for me, have all been points in the right direction and it is always good for confidence when you put together an unbeaten run of games.

“We have been in good form and we feel like we are moving in the right direction. We have tightened up at the back and that breeds confidence through the whole team. When you know you are less prone to conceding goals it offers more of a licence for us to get forward.”