Joey Barton insists he is happy to take the heat for his tactical decisions and insists he will not rein in his attacking approach as Bristol Rovers look to end a six-game winless run in League One.
The Gas were beaten 6-3 by Lincoln City at the Mem on Saturday, with a team selection that Barton himself labelled "barmy" not going to plan. He left out Alfie Kilgour, his only fit and available centre-back, and played Glenn Whelan – a midfielder – in the middle of a back three. Barton gave Whelan the nod because of his superior abilities on the ball.
That decision raised supporters' eyebrows before kick-off and was questioned after a chaotic game with chances galore for both sides, and Barton accepts scrutiny will come his way.
"We’ve got one recognised defender and we obviously kept him on the bench next to me because I felt we had to take the ball today and we had to take chances and we had to be aggressive and play forward," the manager said.
"It could have been 7-7, it could have been 8-7, it was a madcap game and I knew when the lads got sent off during the week and we’ve got a couple of injuries in those parts of the pitch, in the next few weeks there are going to be some harem-scarem moments until we get a full complement back.
"I left him out because we were trying to build. That backfires and I look like a fool. That’s the chalice of being a manager. If you get it right, you look a genius. If you get it wrong, you’re an absolute imbecile and we all know that is the tightrope that we walk.
"But I know what I’m seeing with this group. The group we’ve recruited, when we get those players back on the pitch, and they’re coming. It will be Rossiter and Thomas back next week, Lewis Gibson will be on the grass next week, we’re hoping to get Josh Grant back on the grass next week, James Gibbons is back running with his boots on next week, so they’re coming."
The defeat dropped Rovers to 21st in League One after nine games, with their last win coming against Oxford United on August 13.
Rovers' defensive shortage is likely to ease in the coming days with Bobby Thomas back from suspension for Saturday's visit of Accrington Stanley, and Lewis Gibson could be available after a calf injury. But they are still without James Connolly and James Gibbons due to back and foot issues respectively.
Regardless, Barton says he will not be more pragmatic as he tries to end Rovers' six-game winless stretch; he wants his team to come out fighting.
"I just believe in that," he said. "I believe in attacking. I’m a boxer that wants to go in the ring and throw punches. I don’t want to be on the ropes, I’m not a counter-puncher. My teams aren’t ever built that way and there might be some games like that.
"I think that’s the first madcap game I’ve had in my tenure and that is the lottery of football sometimes when you pick a barmy team selection.
"I thought there were some really good bits in there, some really good football. There are loads of bits we need to get better at, but the perverse mindset of me as a coach will take a lot of positives out of that, mainly being the character of the group in there and the togetherness of the fans with the team. That is important."
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