BRISTOL Rovers central defender James Clarke is hoping a clean sheet can form the foundations of a derby day win for his side this evening.

Darrell Clarke’s side have only recorded one shut out since their promotion to English football’s third tier - that came in a 1-0 success over Cardiff City in the EFL Cup first round.

However, Clarke and the rest of the Rovers back line will take encouragement going into tonight’s rearranged tie knowing that they had kept out Swindon for 59 minutes of the original fixture before the heavens opened.

Clarke will be eager for a drier encounter this evening and believes that the issue surrounding the tickets for the match will add extra niggle to proceedings.

“The way things have happened ticket wise, there is a bit more bitterness to it,” he told the club website.

“We’re going there to win. The game got called off down there because the game was unplayable really.

“Fingers crossed it doesn’t rain so much.

“We have got a plan that we have been working on and hopefully we are going there to get the clean sheet first of all and hopefully the win.

“I have had quite a strong start to the season but I know the way the gaffer works and I will be in and out - we have all bought into that.

“It keeps everyone on their toes and makes sure everyone is preparing properly.”

Bristol, who sit just the wrong side of the relegation zone cut off point on seven points, have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their opening seven fixtures, conceding 11 in the process.

However, Clarke says they have been working hard on that side of the game and believes that against Swindon, who have only found the net more than once in one game so far this league campaign, is the ideal place to start.

“We’re not really looking at the games we have played, we are looking at the ones that are coming, like Tuesday,” he added.

“We’ve conceded a few goals of late and I think we want to go back to basics and be solid.

“Obviously, we are going to concede goals but you want to get them down to ones and twos in games.

“I think we have shown we can be more solid and hopefully it will happen more for us at the top end.

“I think it is only a matter of time (before we get that first clean sheet), starting with Tuesday.

“We’ve been unlucky with some of the goals we have conceded but some have clearly been our own fault through mistakes.

“That is what us defenders play for, clean sheets, with any luck, on Tuesday it will come.”