Joey Barton’s verdict on the future of forgotten Bristol Rovers man and Leon Clarke update

Joey Barton says Jon Nolan’s future at Bristol Rovers will be decided on a lot of dependencies, including the outcome of their promotion race.

Nolan was seen pre-match at the Memorial Stadium before the draw with Forest Green Rovers last Saturday but was not included in the squad.

The 30-year-old has made the squad three times but has been limited to just one appearance, a 26-minute outing in the 1-0 defeat to Newport County back in March, which was his last inclusion.

When Nolan signed after his contract at Ipswich Town back in January, the duration of his contract was undisclosed but was expected to be short-term.

And his lack of action in the blue and white quarters has brought up the question of whether he will be at the club in the summer, with an uncertain response given the lack of idea which division the team will be in.

“I think it’s unfair to talk about that at this moment,” said Barton when what Nolan’s future might look at the club past the end of this season.

“We want to get this season finished. For me, it was a good opportunity to have a good look at Jon.

“He’s come in and it’s not gone as well as he would have hoped. For us, to see what he is capable of and watch him train. It gives us a good benchmark of where he is.

“A lot of that will be dependent on how our season finishes, where we are, what we have available, and what strategy we decide to take depending on what the challenge is for next year.

“I’m really pleased with the fact he’s been able to train for the last two-and-half weeks with the group. It’ll be interesting to see whether he can throw his cap in the ring between now and the season’s end.

“It’s a tricky time to predict anything at the minute because things are out of your own hands and it’s never nice when you don’t control your own destiny.”

A calf injury has been Nolan’s biggest stumbling block, but competition for a first-team place has never been higher either given the plethora of options the manager has to choose from in the midfield.

Sam Finley, captain Paul Coutts, and Antony Evans are the Rovers’ usual starters whilst there is also Glenn Whelan, who can come off the bench.

It has seen the likes of Sion Spence, on loan from Crystal Palace, frozen out of the first-team picture, as well as Alex Rodman, who has been at the club for a number of years.

As well as the likes of the returning Josh Grant, who has played at wing-back, as Barton tries to utilise the players he has at his disposal.

Barton said: “But such is competition for places and certainly in that midfield area we’re already moving some of them out of the centre because we’ve got more than three good players if we’re playing 4-3-3.

“He’s training, he’s itching as is Alex Rodman and Sion Spence is the same. We’ve got more than 11  and 18 good players so competition is high to get into the matchday squad at the minute.

“Jon is making good progress but opportunities for him to get into the first team are going to be tricky because we’ve got loads of quality in those positions.”

Another experienced player that Barton has been unable to call upon as much as he would have liked is front-man Leon Clarke.

Clarke has missed a majority of the season through a hamstring injury which saw him sidelined from September to January, before a few stop start periods.

He was due to start against Salford City on Good Friday but was withdrawn just before kick-off and has not been seen in a match day squad since, owing to a groin injury.

And his part in the regular season could be over given the remainder of it yet, with his realistic target now the play-offs, should that be the route to promotion, rather than the automatics.

“He isn’t as bad as first feared,” revealed Barton. “He won’t come in to the match day squad. He isn’t back out on the grass with us yet.

“He will be probably be reliant on the season extending to make an impact. He’s disappointed that he is missing games but he is working his way back in to contention.”