Jonathan Hedge: It's all Rovers for AFC Telford

The Pirates have been banished from the Football League after relegation, dropping out of the pyramid for the first time since 1920,

Now Hedge will be on the Bucks' ship hoping to steer Rovers further towards their crash back down to earth, in a maiden Conference Premier clash for their either club.

Ugly scenes greeted their demise at the Memorial Ground, with police horses needed to clear the pitch of furious supporters after a 1-0 defeat to Mansfield Town sealed their doom.

But the fans have largely stuck by their team after the dust settled, a gate of 7,000 plus for their goalless season opener against visiting Grimsby Town an indication of this.

However, patience is again wearing thin just three games into the campaign, defeats on the road to Barnet and then promoted Altrincham bringing dark clouds home.

Manager Darrell Clarke will be back under pressure if they come unstuck against another of the division's new-boys, with Telford coming to town as the Conference North champions.

Hedge arrived in the close season to replace legendary No 1 Ryan Young and, counting Cambridge United and Grimsby among his last clubs, knows the pressure Rovers are under in non-league.

He said: "We are going to Bristol Rovers, there will be a big crowd up there and they have will a bit of quality, having been in League Two last season. It's up to us to go up there and upset the odds.

"They have had a bad start, as they have come into this division and don't know what it's about. We go there as the underdogs and that might favour us a bit.

"We have got the players in the squad who can do it and it's about staying positive and together as a group. Their fans will expect them to put on a show, but we are going there for three points."

Telford's own need to put a three-point haul on the board is also increasing, a draw with nine-men at Welling United in their curtain raiser all they have notched so far.

Such is the strength of the division, Liam Watson's side have faced former League Two sides in both home encounters at the New Bucks Head, losing to Macclesfield Town and Aldershot.

Shooting themselves in the foot before half-time arrives is proving a worrying par for the course, with all goals in the 3-2 Macc loss and the 2-0 Shots setback conceded by the break.

Hedge said: "Aldershot are not a bad side, being ex-Football League, but we made them look good in that first 45 minutes, like we did against Macclesfield.

"At the moment, we are in a habit of conceding goals early on and being slow starters. You will get punished for that in this division. We only have ourselves to blame.

"We can't afford to do that, we need to hit the ground running, right from the first whistle. Hopefully, when the next game comes around, we will able to put that right.

"It's frustrating for me, I don't like the opposition scoring and I need a bit of help along the way. I am sure the lads will dig in and keep going, though, when things get tough."

A relatively 'nothing to lose' mission at Rovers precedes a reunion for a number of Telford players back in Shropshire on Bank Holiday Monday, against Watson's former club Southport.

The Bucks boss won two Conference North titles with the Sandgrounders, the latter alongside current assistant Dominic Morley.

Captain Steve Akrigg, Sean Clancy, Godfrey Poku, Tony Gray, Andy Owens, Chris Lever, Neill Byrne and even Hedge pulled on the yellow shirt during that time.

The shot-stopper, who was on loan from Cambridge, said: "I was there for a few weeks at the back end of the season a couple of years ago and I enjoyed my time there.

"It's a game that we need to win if we are going to do well. A club in our position have got to win their home fixtures.

"If we are playing Southport on the back of a good performance, that will give us confidence. Our first win would breed that."