Joey Barton is proud that Bristol Rovers helped put Luke Thomas back on the straight and narrow, even though it could have scuppered their long-term chances of signing the Barnsley winger permanently.
Thomas spent last season at Rovers with his career having seemingly reached a crossroads as he had taken a leave of absence towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign for his “mental and physical health” and there were genuine fears he could drop out of the professional game.
The 23-year-old was then lambasted by Barton in November over his attitude, which had become so toxic the Gas initially wanted to cancel their agreement with the Tykes. However, it proved the wake-up call Thomas needed and although he never commanded a regular role in the starting XI, he still played a significant part in the Gas’ promotion drive, providing five assists in 28 appearances, 10 as a starter.
That production coupled with the feeling the Gloucestershire-born forward was on an upward curve and would be more suited to League One football than the division below, prompted Rovers to explore the possibility of signing him on a permanent deal this summer.
But Thomas appears to have played his way back into favour under Michael Duff at Barnsley, starting their last two league fixtures and repaying the manager’s faith with a goal and an assist.
His growing impact at Oakwell inevitably makes Duff increasingly less open to the possibility of selling him to Rovers and tonight’s reunion will unfortunately be with Thomas on the opposing side to the Gas.
“He made himself a better player,” Barton said. “We can only lead the horse to water. It’s up to them and I saw him score a goal against Cheltenham and spoke to him after the game. He is still really close to all of the boys, we still speak to him and he’s somebody who was a good team person in the end.
“He came in and came out of kilter, sometimes he would have to get a reminder of that. He responded superbly and he’s got himself back into this position due to his mindset and his work ethic. I am pleased and buzzing for him.
“It’s the same with Connor Taylor and Elliot (Anderson). You want to see these lads go well. It’s great if they come back and you’d love to have them back but also you want to see them getting on and doing well.
“For me, that is a very rewarding part of the coaching journey. Seeing a boy come in who is out of kilter in his life, lost his way a bit when he’s a clearly talented boy. He was overweight and his lifestyle wasn’t right. To see him now a completely different person filling that manliness all young men need to transition into is really pleasing.
“I’m hoping he has a stinker against us on Tuesday but after that, I wish him well. When he comes back here I hope he has a stinker again.
“If we don’t manage to get him back with us at some point because he is a top kid, he worked incredibly hard to turn his life and his footballing career around. He should be enormously proud of that, he deserves enormous credit for it.”
Duff will be another familiar face for Barton in Yorkshire, with the Barnsley boss a friend and former teammate of the 39-year-old during his time with Burnley in 2017.
The two remain close, with Duff having been appointed at Oakwell this summer following four successful seasons in charge of Cheltenham Town. Following their relegation from the Championship, Barnsley are very much among the teams tipped to compete for promotion in what is an intensely competitive League One this season.
Barton is also hoping the man who brought him and Duff together five years ago will also be present at the game tonight.
“He is a top fella, Duffo!” Barton added. “He was part of the group at Burnley when we had a fantastic team and won the Championship.
“I have shared some special memories with him, we have had a bit of a taste of him when he came with Cheltenham last season in the League Cup.
“He’s had really good teams, he’s another Dyche (Sean) disciple. I don’t know whether Sean is going to come. I spoke to him earlier in the week and he said he was at the Barnsley vs Cheltenham game last week. For us being ex-players for the manager and now both on the coaching side of it. It will be nice to see him
“It will be 3-5-2, he is always well drilled in terms of defensive aspects. They will test you from set plays. We are going to have to be at our best.
“It’s a team I expect to be in the shake-up for promotion at the end of the season. We go there with nothing to lose as we’re underdogs. It’s a lovely feeling, it wasn't that way last year. We’ve shown that granite, solid chin and we will need to defend properly in all aspects against Duffo’s team and they always test you physically.”
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
READ NEXT:
