Bristol Rovers wanted to sign leaders - Martin

Ricky Martin started in the role as director of football at Bristol Rovers this summer

Bristol Rovers achieved a key objective to bring in more leadership and experience this summer said director of football Ricky Martin.

Rovers brought in 14 players, five over the age of 25 including striker Ellis Harrison and defender Alfie Kilgour, midfielder Josh McEachran, right-back Macauley Southam-Hales and goalkeeper Luke Southwood.

They have more than 1,200 appearances in the top four tiers of English football between them.

"I had five key bullet points coming into the window, what I wanted to achieve. Leadership and experience was one of them," Martin told BBC Radio Bristol's Having a Gas.

"I feel we've got some players that have done that."

Bath-born Kilgour, who joined the club initially when he was seven, has been named captain since returning for a second spell, with Southwood vice-captain.

After losing their first two games of the campaign back in League Two after relegation in May, Rovers have gone on to win their past three league outings against Cambridge, Grimsby and Newport.

"We've created a leadership group now and that's six players in the changing room that represent the players, and they are the experience, they are the leaders," Martin said.

"They are not just the older ones but they are leaders in the way they go about themselves and carry themselves, the way they influence the changing room and training ground."

Martin started in the role this summer having previously been a technical director at Stoke until February 2024.

He spent 16 years before that as a coach at Norwich and was also West Ham's academy director.

With his first transfer window at Rovers now over, Martin said the club could have done more but he was satisfied the squad was in a "better place" than before.

"That's something that keeps driving me to get me ready for the next window so I'm even more prepared, I'm even more focused so I can ensure every time the window shuts we want our squad to be in a better place," Martin said.

"We've got a better place now than when we started the window, but come January I'll be going again."