Joey Barton names the one Bristol Rovers player he wants to sign again for next season

Joey Barton says he would sign midfielder Luke Thomas again next season if given the opportunity.

The 23-year-old came on just after the hour mark and assisted Elliot Anderson for his match-winning goal against Salford City.

Thomas, is on loan from Championship strugglers Barnsley, and has made 27 appearances in all competitions this season.

And whatever the division, Barton has expressed his desire to work with him again, however he is the property of the Yorkshire club.

“For me, I love him,” Barton said. I’d take him beyond next season but he’s another team’s property.

“He is a super kid and an incredibly talented young man. I’d take him because I believe what he is about. He isn’t out of the woods yet, he has to keep playing his dues and working hard.”

Earlier this month, Tykes CEO Khaled El-Ahmad said that Thomas will report for pre-season with them.

He is contracted there for a further season and Barnsley’s league position is likely to be in the third tier, where Thomas’ status within their squad could be assessed.

At Rovers, Thomas has at times endured a difficult period at the Memorial Stadium, having been in and out of the side, and has had to wait patiently for an opportunity to appear.

Rewind back to November in the reverse fixture against Salford and Thomas was a player who received public criticism from Barton.

But since the start of the New Year, the player has put in the extra hours to help put him in the best possible shape to aid the promotion bid.

And that has been recognised not only by Barton and his backroom staff, but also by his teammates, who have integrated him better into the group.

Barton said: “He’s lean, he’s disciplined, he is eating right, he is thinking right and sleeping right. He has got his life back on track and that allows him to come and make the impact as a player.

“The work we have done to get him back and the work he has done. We can only lead the horse to water and the penny has to drop. It hasn’t been a linear progression of just getting better and better.

“As it is with all young men there are setbacks in the road. He’s kept turning up and I think the trust he has got now from the group because of the hard yards he has done.

“He has stayed and done extra sessions, he has gone into the gym, sometimes he has been dragged into the gym by Paul Coutts and Glenn Whelan.  “Going into the gym and getting the extra work done, he needed to close the gap on players.

“Today will do his confidence no end of good.”