Bristol Rovers loanee was ‘under pressure’ from Joey Barton to reject Wales call-up says manager

Wales Under-21 manager Paul Bodin says that Joey Barton put pressure on Sion Spence to reject a call-up for his country and remain at Bristol Rovers.

Spence was on a season-long loan from Crystal Palace, but found first-team opportunities limited in what was a competitive area of the pitch.

The 21-year-old ended up playing just 12 games this season and didn’t play a competitive match for the Gas since January with Antony Evans and Elliot Anderson both holding down that central attacking midfield role.

His last involvement with the senior team was as an unused substitute in February against Mansfield Town and in his six league appearances, he accumalated just 88 minutes of League Two football.

He would regularly travel with the squad to an away match or be seen going through drills prior to kick-off at games at the Memorial Stadium but wouldn’t make the match day squad.

“Sion Spence wasn’t able to come away with us, he came under pressure from Joey Barton,” said Bodin to Welsh sports website Dai Sport.

“Saying if you stay here you will play in the first team, if you don’t and go with Wales you will be back down the pecking order,” says Boden

“I understand the players’ conundrums. When they are close to the first team, that’s what they want. That’s what we all want, because ultimately that is where their careers lie, in club football. Playing for Wales is a privilege and an honour, but it is a bonus.

“If there is any doubt in his mind, as with any player… I’ve seen it with Ryan Stirk this year, he wanted to stay with Mansfield, didn’t want to come away with us,” he added.

“I asked Chem last camp would he like to join up with the squad and he declined the opportunity. He said he wanted to stay and train with Wolves and be around the first team, and ironically it worked for him and he did get some first team minutes a couple of weeks later.

In November, Spence turned down the opportunity to go out with his country and opted to stay with Rovers and scored a goal in the dramatic 4-3 extra-time win over Oxford United in the FA Cup.

He also did not feature in the last international period in March with Wales losing to Switzerland and drawing with Bulgaria, which ruled them out of qualification.

Barton stated on a few occasions that despite players being called up to their team would be an honour, he would prefer to keep all his players put.

Despite what was a spell that was frustrating for game time, Barton believed that Spence’s time in the West Country will come as a benefit to his career: "I think back to Sion’s goal at Walsall and Oxford in the FA Cup,” he recalled to BBC Radio Bristol.

“They were massive goals for us in terms of momentum and keeping that upward trajectory in the season. He never played as many minutes as he probably would have done in a successful period for him, but we also feel that has added value to him.”

Most recently, Gas duo Luca Hoole and Cardiff City loanee James Connolly were called up to the Dragons squad for their EURO 2023 qualifiers.

They have games against the Netherlands on Saturday, June 11 and Tuesday, June 14, which is just a few weeks from when preseason starts.