Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Barton is ‘really happy’ with his group at Rovers
BRISTOL Rovers have a vacancy in their squad submitted to the English Football League, but manager Joey Barton insists he has no immediate plans to fill it.
Clubs were required to submit squad lists last week at the end of the summer transfer window, with a maximum of 22 outfield players aged over 21 allowed.
Following the termination of Josh Barrett’s contract, Rovers have a 21-strong squad of senior players, meaning the club can register one more from the free agent market.
However, the manager insists he is happy with his group after making 17 additions – and sanctioning more than 20 departures – this summer.
“It’s not in my mind at this moment in time,” Barton said at yesterday’s press conference. “You never say never in football because things can change relatively quickly.
“But at this moment in time, I’m really happy with the group we’ve got and I’m really happy with the competition for places and it’s just a case of me and the coaching staff now knitting the group together so those personal relationships start building on the field on a matchday.
“The window closing allows the group to settle down.”
The vacancy will give Barton a degree of flexibility should any injuries arise, which could explain his hesitancy to commit to a 22nd player at the moment.
Rovers did, however, want to make a further signing late in the window, targeting forwards after the sale of Brandon Hanlan.
Leon Clarke signed as a free agent and scored on his debut, but Rovers missed out on a loan move for Aston Villa’s Cameron Archer after his Carabao Cup hat-trick forced him into Dean Smith’s first-team group.
Rovers have also named 14 youth players in their squad and Barton insists they will get chances.
“We’ve got some younger players to drip feed into it because we want the club to have young blood running through it,” Barton said.
“But, on the other side of that, there is an expectation to be in the promotion picture, so for me, as a coach, it’s always about finding that balance and I think we’ve got real healthy competition and there is enough breathing space for the young players to mature and develop.
“They will be exposed to it every day in training and also there will be moments in the season where young players will be given the exposure to develop them as future prospects.”
Rovers will look to register their first away victory of the campaign when they travel to the North East to face Hartlepool United today.