A busy few weeks await Bristol Rovers in the transfer market with manager Joey Barton eying as many as seven new signings ahead of the new League One season.
The Gas have completed four deals so far, but Barton wants to get several more over the line by the time Rovers take on Forest Green Rovers on July 30 to kick off the campaign. Midfielder Jordan Rossiter, full-back James Gibbons, centre-half James Connolly and striker John Marquis have arrived, but Barton wants to make further upgrades in each third of the pitch.
Speaking after Tuesday's 3-1 friendly defeat at Bath City, Barton opened up on his transfer plans as the new season looms.
"Certainly on that frontline, we’ve got a bit of work to do," he told Bristol Live. "I still think I’m six – and tonight has made me think possibly seven – away from being happy and in the course of that we will probably lose three or four as well.
"I think we need a left-back, or we certainly need to firm that position up. We need a right-sided centre-half, we need at least two more midfielders and probably three on the frontline.
"We’ve lost Sammy Nicholson, Luke Thomas and Elliot Anderson and we haven’t replaced those as yet.
"For us, the priority will be making sure that when we start the season we are not in a position where we are weaker than last season, but when you lose Elliot Anderson it is difficult to replace that. Apart from that outlier, we have to insulate the group against that."
Anderson was heroic in his stint on loan from Newcastle United and he has earned the right to fight for a place in Eddie Howe's squad this summer, making the chances of a Rovers return slim.
Rovers' squad was split in half for two simultaneous friendlies on Tuesday evening. A squad that featured Antony Evans, Aaron Collins and James Connolly went 1-0 up at Twerton Park through Ryan Loft, but would lose 3-1 on a gruelling, humid evening.
Meanwhile at Chippenham Town's Hardenhuish Park, the Gas fared better with John Marquis and Harvey Saunders scoring a brace apiece en route to a 4-1 win.
In his post-match interview with Rovers' media team at Bath, Barton said some members of his squad were "playing for their careers" with the Gas. He expanded on that point when asked by Bristol Live if players could leave in the coming weeks if they do not take their chance to impress.
"Yeah, I think so," he said. "We’ve still got the group building and by the time you get to the end of pre-season and start getting into the season, your starting XI should start to firm up.
"There will be a bit of wiggle room in the market, we’re aware we’ve got work to do and that means players in and players out. Pre-season is always an audition for players who maybe haven’t played the minutes they wanted to play last season.
"You can see from Harvey Saunders nicking two and Johnny Marquis nicking two, we’ve got competition right throughout the squad. Lofty gets on the scoresheet tonight, Azza scored the other day in the Melksham game.
"We want the strongest team we can going into League One and we won’t carry any passengers."
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