Joey Barton has revealed Bristol Rovers won’t be offering promotion hero Harry Anderson a new contract due to the versatile winger’s injury issues this season but will invite him back for the chance to earn a deal over pre-season.
Anderson is one of seven first-team players who, as it stands, become free agents this summer and Barton will sit down with a number of members of his squad over the next 24-48 hours to discuss their futures and prospects in BS7.
The Rovers manager has already had such a conversation with Anderson, who’s been limited to just 13 starts in 2022/23 after suffering groin and foot problems and has managed just 97 minutes over six appearances since February.
As a result he won’t be receiving an extension on the two-year agreement he signed in the summer of 2021 after arriving at the Mem from Lincoln City. Anderson played a significant role in the Gas’ promotion from League Two and remains a unique player, not just for Rovers but in the EFL overall, given his ability to cover multiple positions down each flank.
Barton concedes he would like to offer the 26-year-old fresh terms providing he can prove his fitness over the summer, but accepts that other clubs could also approach Anderson before that and provide him with something more concrete.
“H, I spoke to him, we can’t offer him a deal. He hasn’t been fit,” Barton said. “(I said) ‘come back pre-season, see how you are’, because he’s a good citizen here and when fit he’s a huge asset. This season we haven’t seen enough of that.
“He may well get an offer in the interim and if that happens, so be it. It’s tough but we’re not running a charity here.”
The destinies of the other six should become known over the next few weeks with Rovers not having to publish their retained list until May 20.
The Gas will lose their quintet of loanees as Lamare Bogarde (Aston Villa), Josh Coburn (Middlesbrough), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Lewis Gibson (Everton) and Ellery Balcombe (Brentford) return to their parent clubs.
Glenn Whelan is retiring to take up a coaching position full-time, and is likely to be followed by captain Paul Coutts who donned a tracksuit in the 3-2 defeat to Bolton Wanderers embossed with the initials “PC” indicating the change.
That leaves the futures of left-back Calum Macdonald, who played the final nine minutes of the Bolton game, veteran goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola, young duo Ryan Jones and Jamie Egan, plus midfielders Grant Ward and Josh Grant to be resolved, although Barton has previously indicated he’d like to keep the latter duo and talks remain ongoing.
The manager will hold a meeting with non-executive director Chris Gibson, head of football operations Eddy Jennings, first-team coach Andy Mangan and head of sports science Tom Short for a review of the campaign and, more importantly, what needs to happen for the Gas to improve in 2023/24.
“I’ve already had conversations with a few lads in terms of the season,” Barton added. “We have a do in the next 24 hours, so I’ll sit down with the lads in between that. If we want a different result we’ve got to do things differently.
"We can’t bring the same group back and expect the same thing. Off the field there are exciting things happening which we’re all aware of. On the field we’ve got to root and branch.
“I’ll be sitting with Chris Gibson, Eddy Jennings, Andy Mangan and Shorty on Tuesday morning and we’ve got a whole host of questions to get through about what did work and what didn’t work.
“We’ll root and branch it and there’ll be no stone left unturned in terms of getting better. Unfortunately that means there’s going to be a cull; players who have been here over the last two years are going to leave. I just think with some people, this is the bus stop.
“They’ve shown us what they can do and 17th in League One is great for this year and a sign of progress for the team but it will not be accepted next season.”
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