Evans, Sinclair, Hoole, Rossiter: Matt Taylor lifts lid on Bristol Rovers' contract situations

Matt Taylor has discussed the situations regarding each Bristol Rovers player out of contract who has been offered a new deal as well as Antony Evans' future with the Gas' Player of the Season approaching the final 12 months of his current contract.

Scott Sinclair, Jordan Rossiter and Luca Hoole have all been offered new deals with their current contracts set to expire this summer while Rovers' retained list also revealed that seven permanently contracted players will be leaving the club, including captain Sam Finley, John Marquis and Josh Grant.

As for Evans, everyone associated with the Gas will be keen to see the 25-year-old midfielder stay on at the club, particularly his manager, but if this season's star player indicates that he doesn't plan to extend his current terms then there will be a decision to make on whether Rovers cash in or benefit from his qualities for another campaign before allowing him to depart for free.

Taylor conducted a season review on BBC Radio Bristol's Having a Gas and spoke at length about all four players' respective situations, with this the current state of play for each.

Antony Evans

As mentioned above, what happens with the midfielder seemingly depends on whether or not he puts pen to paper on a new deal. Taylor confirmed that the playmaker has been offered a fresh contract and those discussion are underway but, at the time of writing, the signature line remains blank.

10 goals and nine assists across all competitions for Rovers made it a season to remember for the 25-year-old whose availability as much as anything seriously stood out within a roster that has suffered from injuries. 52 appearances and just shy of 4,000 minutes made Evans' attendance the best within the Gas squad while he was also their stand out performer.

Additionally, you would expect that with a new contract will be the offer of being the club's new captain given that the 25-year-old was handed the honours while Sam Finley was absent for the final six games of the season. Rovers will be handing the armband across to someone new following the midfielder's departure and Finley's fellow Scouser is the leading candidate, but that's dependant on whether he's still sporting blue-and-white quarters next term.

What Matt Taylor said: "We’re talking about it now throughout the course of the season. Those discussions and offers have gone out so that’s happened. We’re not naive enough to let a player who’s your best player go into the last year of the deal without even having a conversation. So, as with everything else football-related, I think we’ll learn a lot about each other in the next eight weeks.

"We want Antony to be here. I think it’s important to say that he didn’t start the season in the team and that’s not my doing, he worked his way back into the team and has then been consistent and then to get all of those awards, it’s a bit like Chris Martin. Probably our two best and biggest performers didn’t start the season either at the club or in the team which is surreal to say.

"Credit to them both for seeing through a difficult moment and then producing and that’s what football is. It’s about producing performances and, whether it’s Chris’ goals or Antony’s goals and assists, they’ve just been consistent in relation to that and we hope that that continues for a long time."

Scott Sinclair

It certainly wasn't a surprise to see the winger offered a new deal given how impressive he was for the final two months of the season having returned from the abyss. The fact that the 35-year-old went four months without a league appearance is baffling when considering how integral he was to Taylor's side towards the end.

The Rovers manager will be looking to instil more standard-bearers in his squad but having Sinclair is certainly a good start and the hope will be he does agree to the extension. Admittedly, it seems as though there's widespread confidence that the veteran forward will sign and that's a major boost for everyone involved.

Pace, durability and leadership are all traits that seemed to be lacking over the course of the campaign but Sinclair boasts all three. To expect him to make 46 League One appearances next term is a major stretch but, first and foremost, just having a player who's had the career that the ex-Celtic, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Chelsea man has had in the building makes a significant difference behind the scenes. On the pitch though, the wide man was also one of the Gas' best players during a tough run.

What Matt Taylor said: "He’s our fittest player. It probably tells you something about the group but he’s our fittest player, our best trainer. He’s got the best attitude when he doesn’t play. He’s got the best attitude when he does play, alongside Jordan Rossiter. He is everything about our culture, our environment. He wants to play. We want him to play here so we’re hopeful and I’m quietly confident that that will pan out in the way we all hope and expect.

"He’s been one of our standout players for the last six weeks, maybe even 12 weeks of the season and I think with another profile of player challenging him and providing competition and supporting him, we’ll see more from Scotty next season as well.

"He started here, it would be great if he ended here. Not for anyone else’s sake other than Scotty’s who has had a fantastic career in between but still why can’t he have more successful years with Bristol Rovers?"

Luca Hoole

The academy product has also been offered a new deal but what was slightly surprising about Taylor's comments was the fact that that contract was offered a while ago. We can speculate as to why pen hasn't yet been put to paper but, ultimately, the right-back is another that you would expect opts to stay on at the club.

Not that there's anything for the 21-year-old to prove, but there's certainly potential there yet to be reached and it's no secret that his homegrown nature adds to the excitement surrounding what Hoole can become. His campaign was a mixed bag of outstanding displays and slightly disappointing performances with the Welshman one of many who struggled for consistency.

Still being out injured while a new manager comes through the door can't be an ideal scenario so, with that considered, the right-back has done well to impress Taylor enough to be offered a new contract.

Right now, you would probably still place the defender behind Jack Hunt in the pecking order but the 33-year-old will be looking for more consistency of his own given repeated injury frustrations. However, assuming that Hoole does sign on, that right-back position is actually looking quite exciting and certainly won't need addressing, immediately at least.

What Matt Taylor said: "He was injured when I first came in. I think it was an ankle injury which I think he got in training. Probably an inconsistent season for Luca. He tried to chase consistency, nailing down a position within that as well. Right-back, right centre-half, right wing-back. Probably the fact that he could cover all of those.

"You get to a certain stage as a player where you really need to nail down one position. But also then what his performances have looked like and we always have to speak honesty and me and Luca have spoken honestly. I think there’s more to come from Luca. The contract that was offered several months ago has reflected that. The desire for the club to keep him at the football club and we’ll see how that materialises."

Jordan Rossiter

The third and final player to be offered a new deal on the back of the retained list is Rossiter but, admittedly, there isn't quite as much confidence that the midfielder will sign as there is that Hoole and Sinclair will.

Like the latter, the 27-year-old is very much a standard-bearer within that squad and Taylor has raved about him frequently within a short period of time given that it's still only been three weeks since Rossiter made his long-awaited return to the pitch after 16 months.

Unfortunately for the midfielder, given his track record with injuries there will always be the question of how many games will Rovers be able to squeeze out of him but he's shown in his four appearances at the end of the campaign as well as speaking in an interview last month and what his manager and teammates have said about him that he's a person worth keeping around, let alone a player, and hopefully the contract on the table reflects the Gas' desire to keep him on and he opts to sign.

What Matt Taylor said: "Not fully behind him [injury issues] because he’s only had the four outings in terms of game time and within that game time, not 90 minute games and no pressured moments because we knew where we were and it was almost a free hit for Jordan. But even within that time, what he did, not just on the pitch but off the pitch in the changing room, just showed exactly what we felt we’d been missing.

"I’ve said previously, you don’t play for Rangers and Liverpool if you’re not a good player so that’s never been in question. The big question will be can his body withstand a league season consistently and stay fit throughout that?

"I’ve spoken about the balance of the squad, being able to offset him at certain moments but he’s a player that I want to continue to work with because it’s been such a short amount of time I’ve seen him. I want to continue to learn more about him and for him to learn more about him and get a style which suits his game and then to see him influence the Kamil Conteh’s of the world and the other young players. There’s no better example of how to be a professional footballer.

"So we’ll see how those contract talks materialise and I’m sure they’ll be ongoing but no matter what the outcome of that is, it’s important that I do say that I think we’re all pleased that he’s got to where he is right now. We didn’t know if we would see him on the pitch this season just gone because that was 18 months worth of inactivity which is such a long time and he was so, so unlucky and it was such a strange sequence of events to put him there and then sometimes being back on the pitch can feel so far away.

"For him to do that and be competitive and be competitive in doing that, testament to him, testament to the medical and S&C staff. Everyone who played a part in that. His home life, his support staff which must have felt the brunt of it more than anyone else, let alone Jordan, but that’s what he is as a person and now, whatever happens in the future, hopefully it’s here, he just finds enjoyment and consistency in being available for professional football."