'But it's certainly, the supporters are right to say - would it help him if he's got a clear person sitting there waiting to grab his shirt if he doesn't deliver the top performances?'

Bristol Rovers manager Steve Evans acknowledged that goalkeeper Brad Young has "not reached the heights" of last season, where he usurped Luke Southwood as the club's number one, but assured that the 24-year-old will "come through this little cycle" and is still relatively inexperienced for a shot-stopper.

Young has conceded 20 goals in League Two so far this season from an xGOT (Expected Goals On Target) of 14.99. This means he is at the bottom of the 'Goals Prevented' metric in the fourth tier - a stat which is calculated by subtracting a team's goals conceded from xGOT (Expected Goals On Target).

At the top of this list is Swindon Town goalkeeper Connor Ripley, who has prevented nine goals in the current campaign, conceding 16 times, despite facing 24.96 xGOT.

In the summer, Southwood and Jed Ward were sold, while Charlie Binns, who is 21 and spent last season at non-league side Bath City, came in as Young's understudy.

Some supporters have argued that Young would benefit from a more experienced back-up goalkeeper, and Bristol Live asked Evans in Friday's pre-Swindon press conference whether this is something the club are looking at, and what he's made of Young's performances so far this term.

"I think Brad's not reached the heights yet and making the big saves that he made last season," he said. "But I think he's still a relatively young goalkeeper, isn't he? I think he's got somewhere [around] 35, maybe 35 league appearances to his name.

"And at his age, that's baby stuff for a goalkeeper, but when you break down the goals, we broke down every goal we conceded. We're probably looking at maybe one or two of them, saying, "Could Brad do better?"

"The rest he's been given no chance from poor defending in front of him. Brad will come through this little cycle, where he goes back to making big saves, and we've got every confidence in him.

"But it's certainly, the supporters are right to say, would it help him if he's got a clear person sitting there waiting to grab his shirt if he doesn't deliver the top performances?

"And the answer is yes, so it's not oblivious to us, we're looking now, but we're also looking ahead at the January window, which is more likely, you're going to get someone who would be having the skillset that we need."

It looks like another goalkeeper is being targeted over the course of the next few months, and Evans is putting his faith in Young, who was given a four-year contract extension in the summer.

Both the Scotsman and the 24-year-old will be keen to get back to winning ways on Saturday, when they host the Robins, following a run of four straight defeats in League Two, which has seen them drop to 16th.