James Belshaw is in training and back in contention for Bristol Rovers, Joey Barton has confirmed after leaving the goalkeeper out of the squad for Tuesday's 0-0 draw against Ipswich Town.
Barton said he had left the club's reigning player of the season out after being disappointed by his attitude and training performance in the wake of January signing Ellery Balcombe being confirmed as the first-choice keeper moving forward.
Barton warned Belshaw would not play for the Gas again unless he bounced back appropriately and the manager has been satisfied by the 32-year-old's response, meaning he is set to the squad for Saturday's League One clash with Burton Albion at the Mem.
"He trained this morning, so he is back in and around the group," Barton said on Thursday. "It was disappointing because you want people to be in the right frame of mind.
"I understand the emotion of not getting selected by the manager, but also you have got to channel that into performance and backing up your team and supporting your teammates. Belly is clearly aware of where it’s at and we put that behind us and move forward.
"He’s up for selection. He’s back training at the right intensity and I don’t carry grudges; if you do things right, there is no problem.
"But if you want to try to do things slightly differently, unfortunately, I’ve got a duty of care to manage the group and the football club to the right standard of behaviour to make sure everybody understands our culture and what we want. It has been clearly explained and I think we can move past that now and look to the future."
Some supporters have questioned whether Barton was right to address the situation so bluntly in the press, but he insists honesty is an essential part of the culture he wants at the club.
"We had a good chat on Monday and we left the office shaking hands, no problem," he added. "He’s come in and trained so there is no issue.
"You asked me a question on Tuesday night and I answered it honestly because I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t. If I try to say something else, it looks like I’m trying to hide something and I was completely transparent with you because that’s the way I live and breathe.
"I think it’s important to understand sometimes how it is from my perspective. I have to look after the whole group and make sure the standards for the whole group are maintained. If you have one player disappointed and maybe it affects his training performance and his attitude, what happens next week when I name a team and it’s somebody else?
"You have got to be careful in this game because you encourage what you tolerate."
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