Brett Pitman has compared Joey Barton’s attention to detail and coaching quality with Eddie Howe as the striker reflected on his year spent with Bristol Rovers.
Pitman has been released at the end of his Gas contract after 18 appearances and four goals for the blue and white quarters, all in the first half of the 2021/22 campaign as he moved to Eastleigh on loan in January.
The veteran frontman made Rovers the sixth permanent club of his career last summer when he joined on a free transfer following a freight spell at Swindon Town and he was tempted to BS7 by the project sold to him by Barton and the chance to work with the former Manchester City and Newcastle United midfielder.
Six seasons of his career were spent under the tutelage of Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, who Pitman considers “the best” he has worked with. However, speaking to the Official AFC Bournemouth Podcast, the 34-year-old touched on working under Barton at Rovers and drew parallels with the now Newcastle United manager.
Howe was notorious in studying the micro-elements of every game; from set-pieces, to the involvement of ball boys drawn from the academy, to players' body shapes when receiving the ball in training. His attention to detail also extended to how he dealt with the media - famously shifting pre-match press conferences to an early morning slot, to prevent national media from attending.
“Probably Joey Barton is the closest I’ve seen to what Eddie would be like, as in attention to detail,” Pitman said. “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, a good coach - his attention to detail in all aspects was really good.”
Pitman was signed as the focal point in Barton’s attack last summer but struggled for fitness and therefore consistency in a Rovers shirt, after suffering a foot injury on the Monday before the start of the season.
He did score four times in League Two, including a last-minute equaliser at Bradford City and a strike at Colchester United that earned a point, but injuries prevented him from making a major impact with Aaron Collins then taking on the mantle of being the club’s frontline forward.
Pitman admits it was difficult to settle at the club due to his inactivity as he was still commuting from Bournemouth every day, spending long stretches away from his family, hence the loan move to Eastleigh which proved a mutual parting of the ways.
“I was excited to sign for Rovers and work with the manager,” Pitman added. “The last game of pre-season (against Oxford United), I came on and scored two and was really looking forward to it.
"There was a bit of excitement but the Monday morning after that I got the most random injury, I ruptured my plantaris tendon - which I’d never even heard of - so that put me back for about a month. I was training but just running in trainers on my own.
“I put myself forward to play but I wasn’t really fit, and that kind of set me back a bit. Then I got into the game, scored three in a week in three games but, on the fourth game, I pulled my groin in the warm-up shooting and that was kind of it for me, I was never back in properly.
“Then it got to January and we kind of said - it was a joint decision - I wanted to play, I was still travelling from Bournemouth, staying in Bristol 2-3 times a week, which is fine if you’re playing but if you’re not really playing it gets difficult.”
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