Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge hopes to extend Bristol Rovers loan deal

Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is already eyeing a longer stay at the club ahead of today's home game against Fleetwood.

The 22-year-old has signed on a month's loan from Fulham and will make his debut against the League Two newcomers at the Memorial Stadium.

Etheridge said: "I'm looking forward to doing well in my month here and, hopefully, extending the loan.

"The move came as a bit of a surprise, but I've always been looking to get myself out on loan to gain experience and play football.

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"This is a great club and I'm happy to be here. I spoke to the gaffer and he seems enthusisatic about the season

"It will be my league debut and I'm looking forward to it. I've done a little bit of research and it's going to be a tough game, but, to be honest, every game is tough no matter what league you are in.

"I'll do my best and, hopefully, we'll get a good result."

Rovers defender Garry Kenneth, meanwhile, is looking forward to the physical challenge of playing against Fleetwood and their big centre forward Jon Parkin.

Kenneth came through his first competitive game for Rovers in the 1-1 draw at Plymouth on Tuesday and was back in training without any adverse reaction.

Kenneth said: "I don't mind playing up against a big lad.

"I enjoy that sort of physical battle and the likelihood is that you don't have to worry about them running in behind.

"I don't know that much about Fleetwood, but their results so far suggest that it is going to be a tough game.

"I'm just glad to be playing again and I'm really looking forward to playing my first game at the Memorial Stadium."

Kenneth admitted he took little time to get into the game at Plymouth.

"I felt a bit rusty in the first-half," said Kenneth. "I hadn't played for five months and I found myself being caught out of position on a few occasions.

"I found my bearings a little bit more in the second-half and, after that, I really enjoyed it. I actually felt stronger the longer the game went on.

"I thought I might feel a bit stiff on Wednesday morning, but I felt a lot better than I thought I would and there has been no reaction in the days following.

"It was just great to be back out on the pitch again. I've been watching the boys for the last couple of months and have been itching to get back out there."

Rovers boss Mark McGhee was certainly a relieved man to see one of his more experienced summer captures come through the game unscathed following what has been a disappointing start to the campaign by his side.

The performance at Plymouth and Kenneth's re-emergence gives grounds for cautious optimism going forward as Rovers attempt to secure what would be their first league win of the season at the seventh time of asking.

"Fleetwood will give us a tough game," said Kenneth, before adding, "but if we start the game in the same way in which we finished against Plymouth, we'll give ourselves a great chance of getting the result we all want.

"I thought we kept the ball well in the first half, although we never really went anywhere with it.

"We played with a lot more purpose after the break and probably deserved to win the game in the end.

"We're desperate to get a victory now. I really feel that we have a squad of players that could really kick on from there.

"We're working hard in training and we would like that hard work to be reflected in the results."

After conceding five goals in their defeat to Port Vale in midweek, Fleetwood are likely to recall centre-back Youl Mawene to their line-up.