Ryan Green is hoping the Welsh connection can again pay dividends for Bristol Rovers at Southend United.

Coach Paul Trollope restored David Pipe to the starting line-up for the Pirates' 3-2 midweek victory over Cheltenham Town – and full-back Green was delighted to see him.

Although the two have been rivals for the right-back slot this term, Trollope pushed Pipe upfield into the right-wing slot as Craig Disley started on the bench.

Pipe duly delivered the cross that provided Rickie Lambert with the first of his two goals against the Robins – and Green believes having his fellow Welshman ahead of him offers more chance to get forward himself.

"I thought Pipey was our man of the match against Cheltenham," said Green.

"With Pipey in the side, it gives me a bit more licence to get forward and go down the outside of him. Craig's natural instinct is normally to cut inside.

"To go behind twice and then come back to win in a local derby was amazing. We were over the moon.

"We are looking to push on into the top 10 now – that's where we think we should be.

"Southend have not been doing too well recently so hopefully we can take another three points this weekend."

Rovers have reverted to a 4-4-2 formation in the last few games and will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run to five matches at Roots Hall. They beat the Shrimpers 4-2 at the Memorial Stadium earlier in the season, with Lambert scoring all four goals for the home side.

"Rickie showed amazing composure under pressure for his winning goal on Tuesday, but that's why he's the top scorer in the division," said Green. "Hopefully we're hanging on to him. I'm sure he'll be staying."

Trollope says he will be a relieved man when the January transfer window closes at 5pm on Monday.

He is increasingly confident he can plan for the rest of the season with goal machine Lambert still on board – and that the wave of speculation over the striker's immediate future will then die down.

The Pirates were only ever likely to enter the market themselves this month if they lost their 20-goal leading scorer.

But despite the national press linking the Scouser with an array of clubs including Bolton, Coventry, Sheffield United and Huddersfield, there has been no approach from anyone so far.

Trollope, who admits he is not a fan of the transfer window, hopes it stays that way over the final hours and will be happy to hear it slammed shut until the summer.

"For lower-division teams – and a lot of Premier League teams as well – the old system where it was open right through the year was more beneficial," said Trollope.

"The current window brings a lot of pressure within a certain time-frame, although the fact you can make emergency loans outside that does ease things a little bit.

"It's a situation that's far from ideal, although one we have to deal with.

"If you do want to bolster your squad and have money available to bring people in, you face a race against time to do it.

"From our viewpoint this year, we have nothing to report – and I'm looking forward to Tuesday."

Trollope's dissatisfaction with the window echoes that felt by many at the top level of game, and there has been speculation that the Premier League could break ranks and consider closing it for good.

Club delegates meet next week and are expected to discuss returning to a less restrictive transfer policy, although that would be bound to leave them at odds with UEFA.

Bristol Rovers (from): Phillips, R Green, Hinton, Elliott, Lescott, Pipe, Lines, Campbell, Hughes, Kuffour, Lambert, Duffy, Disley, Jacobson, Anthony, Hunt.