Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton assessed by last season’s Newcastle United loan ace

Newcastle United youngster Elliot Anderson has hailed the influence of Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton during his loan spell at the Memorial Ground last season.

The attacking midfielder linked up with the Gas during the January transfer window and scored the goal to win them promotion back to League One on the final day of the campaign against Scunthorpe United.

Anderson, 19, was given the green light to temporarily leave the Toon Army to get some experience under his belt and enjoyed his first taste of regular senior football.

He has reflected on his time with the Pirates and had this to say about Barton, as per Newcastle’s official website:

“He was good. He had high standards for everyone. He pushed you. He was a player so he had your best interests in mind, and he really helped me and gave me that sort of stepping stone for my career.

“He told me a few stories about when he was here (at Newcastle United) and stuff that went on... it was a good laugh.”

The Scotland youth international also said: “I loved it (at Bristol Rovers). I went there at the end of January and it was a new club to me. But they welcomed me so well and a lot of the lads were in the same boat, with a lot of them from up north, so I fitted in well and cracked on straight away.

“When I joined, there was a really good feeling around the place. They were pushing on. I don’t think they had a decent start to the season, but as I joined they were pushing a bit and getting wins. From the very first week, we were pushing for play-offs, really, and then eventually pushing for automatic promotion. It was canny mad, really. We just went on a winning streak.”

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Bristol Rovers will miss Anderson in the next campaign following his return to his parent club now.

He has gone to Austria as part of Eddie Howe’s squad for pre-season and they have a big decision to make on what to do with him ahead of next term.

The Pirates have been busy since sealing their return from League Two and have brought in defender James Connolly on a permanent basis from Cardiff City, full-back James Gibbons from Port Vale, midfielder Jordan Rossiter from Fleetwood Town and striker John Marquis.

Barton won them promotion from the fourth tier at the first time of asking and he will now be eager to show what he can do again in League One.

His side are currently preparing for the start of the 2022/23 season and were in friendly action last night against Bath City.