A former trusted lieutenant of Eddie Howe has compared Joey Barton’s impact at Bristol Rovers to the job his former manager is doing at Newcastle United. Brett Pittman - who played alongside and under the Toon boss at Bournemouth - was part of the Rovers squad that achieved League Two promotion this season.
Barton took over the Gas 18 months ago and failed to avoid relegation to the fourth tier. After a difficult start 2021-22, the former Magpies midfielder transformed his outfit in the second half of the campaign and secured promotion with a 7-0 rout against Scunthorpe on the final day.
Similarly, Howe took over Newcastle with the club 19th and winless in the Premier League. United produced a remarkable turnaround of their own to finish 11th and 14 points clear of the drop zone.
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Pittman is well-placed to make a comparison between the two and he believes Barton is “the closest” he has seen to the current Newcastle manager. The 34-year-old was in the trenches with Howe as the Cherries rose from League Two to the Premier League.
Speaking to the Official AFC Bournemouth podcast, he said: “Joey Barton is probably the closest I’ve seen to what Eddie would be like, as in attention to detail.
“I haven’t got a bad word to say about him, I got on really well with him and I thought he was a very good manager, a good motivator."
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