Paul Trollope has revealed that Anthony Pulis has been watched by the club for the last 18 months.

The first team coach was speaking after the three-month loan signing of the 23-year-old midfielder, who travels with Rovers on the coach to Doncaster this afternoon.

The player is available for selection tomorrow if required, and Paul is delighted to have him on board.

"He's a young midfield player who has had a taste of Championship action this season and been involved in cup ties against Newcastle recently," Paul told bristolrovers.co.uk, "He's a player we have had our eye on for the last 18 months.

"We saw a lot of him in reserve team action last season for Stoke and with the number of games we have coming up we need to add to the squad we need to strengthen certain areas and we are delighted to have him on board.

"He's highly regarded at Stoke and by other managers and we hope that his time with us will be beneficial for Bristol Rovers and for him as well.

"He went out Grimsby on loan last year and had a little spell with them but that was cut short as he suffered a thigh injury. He went back to Stoke and he's been in Stoke reserves this year but had some cup action for them and has been on the bench a few times for them in league games.

"We're happy to have him here - he fits into our criteria for players and we hope it works out for both parties.

"He trained with us yesterday but it was only a light session because we played on Tuesday and the reserves played Wednesday. He'll train with us at Derby today before we travel on to Doncaster for tomorrow's game.

"All the paperwork has been completed so he's available for selection tomorrow."