Paul Heffernan hopes to be part of a late surge towards the top six with Bristol Rovers – even though he would miss out on the play-offs.

The on-loan Doncaster Rovers marksman has spoken of his delight at extending his loan deal with the Pirates to May 8, the date of their final game of the season at Leeds United.

Heffernan, who scored against Rovers when Doncaster beat them in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final in 2007, recalls how the Pirates bounced back from that defeat by remaining unbeaten for the rest of the campaign before clinching promotion at Wembley.

"I remember that year and the manager reminded a few of the lads about that run after Saturday's game at Swindon," said Heffernan. "There's no reason why we can't go on another run now. If they do get to the play-offs, I wouldn't be able to play in any of the games, and that would be unfortunate. But, obviously, I'll be doing my best to make sure the lads get there.

"We are eight points off sixth place at the moment, so there's a lot of ground to make up, but there are still a lot of games to go.

"So if we can put a few wins together, the other teams will start looking over their shoulder, and you never know what can happen then."

Heffernan played a major part in ending Rovers' five-month wait for an away win with his performance against Swindon, which saw him net his second goal for the club.

Now he is keen to continue his impressive form in Saturday's home game against Tranmere.

"It's unbelievable that the club is still in ninth place having not won an away game for so long. It just shows that the home form must have been good," said Heffernan.

"We've won three in a row now, and when you are winning games, it does more for your confidence than anything else.

"Tranmere at home won't be easy, as they picked up a good win against Southampton on Saturday, so they will be full of confidence. They have managed to claw themselves out of the bottom four, so it will be a very tough game and we will have to be 100 per cent ready for the challenge."

While Heffernan had no hesitation in committing his immediate future to Rovers, he is still unclear what will happen over the summer when his contract at the Keepmoat Stadium is up.

"I've enjoyed it down here and got on well with everyone at the club, so it was an easy decision to make," he said.

"If a longer-term deal is spoken about, we'll see how it goes –but at the moment I'm just concentrating on the rest of the season.

"I've not spoken to Doncaster about what might happen with them, although I wouldn't think there would be anything for me – though to be honest, I don't have a clue."

Rovers boss Paul Trollope is also happy that Heffernan is remaining on board and hopes his blossoming partnership with Jo Kuffour will continue to flourish.

"Paul is forming a good partnership with Jo. I think they are developing an understanding and it's a major boost for us," said Trollope.

"I think he is enjoying playing regular football again, his sharpness is coming back and his performance last Saturday is hopefully a sign of things to come. If the two of them continue to play like that, then they have a lot of goals in them, which will hopefully help to get us somewhere near the play-offs."

Trollope has confirmed that Rovers are still keen to boost their striking options further with another loan signing, and they continue to be linked with interest in West Brom targetman Chris Wood.

"We are still looking to bring another one in, although it probably won't happen this week," said Trollope.

"But we will be looking to do it before the deadline in a couple of weeks' time. If things go to plan over the next 10 days, then we will need to be strong for the run-in to the end of the season."