Joey Barton says Jon Nolan is ready to make an impact at Bristol Rovers as the midfielder awaits his debut in the blue and white quarters.
The 29-year-old was included in a matchday squad for the first time following his February 1 move after leaving Ipswich Town as the Gas drew 1-1 with Exeter City on Saturday. The highly-regarded midfielder has not played a competitive fixture in more than a year due to a serious knee injury, but could make his Rovers bow on Tuesday when Barrow visit the Mem.
Nolan did not make his way off the bench against the Grecians, but Barton insists his fellow Liverpudlian is primed and ready to play as the Gas vie to reel in their rivals in the League Two play-off places with 14 games to play. The Rovers manager, however, did not feel Saturday's game was the opportune moment to introduce Nolan due to the frenetic and physical nature of the game.
"He was ready to go for what I needed him for on Saturday," Barton explained. "I just felt with the tightness of the contest it wasn’t a contest where you wanted to try and play your way in and get up to speed.
"It was quite harem-scarem in the middle of the park. Nolo is a ball-playing midfielder. No doubt about it, if I’d have put him on, he’d have had no problem dealing with it.
"I just felt as an introduction it may well have been a baptism of fire, so I chose not to do that, but I’m pleased to have him in contention within our squad, because he’s one helluva player."
Barton hopes Sam Finley will be fit to feature against Barrow after he was taken off at the interval against Exeter. He had been suffering from a non-COVID virus ahead of the game and the manager withdrew him believing his performance levels were inhibited as a result. Alfie Kilgour, Josh Grant and Alex Rodman, however, are set to miss out again with their recovery from injuries ongoing.
"We’ll have to check the lads who’ve been suffering with an illness," Barton added. "We’ve got three of four like that. We’ve got a few bumps and bruises. There was a lot of ice after the game on Saturday, as you can imagine with the schedule it’s been unrelenting.
"We’ll go with a group who we feel can deliver a high-octane, high-energy performance because we know from playing Barrow earlier on in the season, they’re a good side. They drew 0-0 at home on Saturday against Harrogate and we know we’ll have to be at our best to take maximum points."
In Barrow, the Gas face a side battling at the bottom end of the table, just two points clear of the relegation zone, and Bluebirds manager Mark Cooper is banned from the touchline. But Barton knows from the first time the sides met – a 1-1 draw at Holker Street in August when Barrow played for close to an hour with 10 men – that Cooper's side are anything but pushovers.
"I remember them being down to 10 men and being really effective with the 10," Barton recalled. "I thought they were a real threat on the counter.
"We had lots of spells of possession, but they defended resolutely and for us, we were frustrated coming away from the game with a point. So, we know just what a tough fixture it will be and we know that we will need to be at the higher end of our performance levels to take maximum points out of the game."
SIGN UP: For our newsletter to receive more exclusive Bristol Rovers content
