Luke McCormick’s second Bristol Rovers debut will be delayed by at least another week after first-team coach Andy Mangan ruled him out of Saturday’s League One clash against Shrewsbury Town at the Mem.
McCormick completed his protracted return to Rovers this week, signing a three-year contract after exhaustive negotiations between the Gas and AFC Wimbledon dating back to the start of the transfer window, with Joey Barton having previously worked with the 23-year-old during his season on loan in 2020/21.
As a result, McCormick was sidelined by former manager Johnnie Jackson in south London and hasn’t been involved in any of their League Two fixtures this season meaning his match fitness isn’t at the required level.
McCormick was at the Quarters on Wednesday, which was a day off for the rest of the squad, to undergo extra training and build his stamina up under head of strength and conditioning Tom Short, but Mangan admits it’ll be unfair to throw him straight into action against the Shrews on Saturday.
“It’ll be too soon to put him in right now,” Mangan said. “He’s had a bit of a strange time at AFC Wimbledon so we’ve got to build him up. We’ve got to look after the boy. He’s signed for three years so there’s no rush.
“We will be training him the correct way, building him up, we have an unbelievable sports science team here and we’ll be led by them. We know what Macca’s like, he’ll be wanting to play Saturday but we’ve got to hold him back for a week or two.
“He’s on a different schedule at the moment. Shorty’s the best out there so no doubt Luke McCormick will come back very, very fit and we’ve got to be led by Shorty - that’s not our area of expertise.”
Mangan says that McCormick’s role will be a flexible one; the 23-year-old won’t be pigeon-holed as just a central midfielder and, as a result, once he’s up to speed in terms of his match fitness, could be a solution to a number of problems for Barton.
His arrival has raised a few eyebrows given the volume of midfielders already at the club, but with the ability to make five substitutions during a game and Barton’s commitment to the high press, McCormick adds another option, not just as a starter, but also off the bench, maintaining Rovers’ levels throughout the 90 minutes.
“He can play as one of the 8s, he can play the 4, the wide positions as well,” Mangan added. “He’s a good attacking player, he arrives in the box, right at the right time, he scores goals, his energy levels are incredible. We are over the moon to have him and now it’s our job to make him even better.
“Because of the way we like to play, with a big emphasis on high pressing, we need bodies in there. Last season, Sam Finley, Glenn Whelan, Paul Coutts and Antony Evans played the majority of the games - four players - so we wanted to add a few more players in that area, which we’ve gone out and done.
“Luke McCormick’s an excellent signing for the club. He’s at the right age and we’re very excited to have him - he’s going to be a fantastic player for Bristol Rovers.”
With the exception of McCormick, long-term absentee James Gibbons and midfielder Josh Grant, Rovers have a mostly fit squad for the weekend, albeit with one undisclosed player requiring a fitness check on Friday to determine his suitability for Shrewsbury.
Mangan was on press duties at The Quarters on Thursday as manager Joey Barton has been afforded some time off following the birth of his fourth child, a son Etienne George, with the 39-year-old with his wife Georgia and family in Merseyside. Barton is due back in north Bristol over the next 24 hours to resume preparations for the weekend.
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