Joey Barton believes John Marquis is finding his stride as a Bristol Rovers player just like Aaron Collins did this time last year, with the number nine shining in Saturday's win at Charlton Athletic.
Marquis was the catalyst for a famous win at The Valley on Saturday, scoring twice as a second-half substitute to overcome Ryan Inniss' opener for the Addicks and lifting the Gas to ninth in League One.
The 30-year-old, back in his native South London made it a week to remember, scoring a brace for the second consecutive game after starring in Tuesday's 4-1 win over MK Dons in the EFL Trophy.
Introduced 10 minutes into the second half with Rovers trailing on Saturday, Marquis brought a spark after a sluggish start. He pressed hard from the front and was rewarded with the equaliser in the 61st minute, stealing the ball from Inniss and whipping it into the top corner.
Eleven minutes later, the turnaround was complete. Again, he harassed Inniss and forced a hurried clearance, which Paul Coutts returned with interest and Marquis raced in on goal, sliding the ball beneath Ashley Maynard-Brewer to delight the 1,339 Gasheads who witnessed Rovers' first win at The Valley since 1958.
Like Collins – now one of the best players in League One – last year, Marquis has taken his time to find his feet as a Rovers player, but with six goals now to his name in the blue and white quarters, Barton has every reason to be excited about his attacking resources.
"You remember Aaron Collins last year," Barton said. "Azza didn’t start scoring until about this time last year. It just takes a bit of time to settle and I think any striker worth their salt, once they get in the goals and they get the smell for it... and you can see from his first goal today that he is not a player short of confidence.
"His two finishes the other night… the second one gets the adulation because it’s a great hit, but the first one he still had a lot to do.
"I’m really pleased for him. He’s worked his backside off to stay with the group. His attitude has been first-class and he now looks a real menace.
"Complementing that with Josh Coburn and Aaron Collins, I think we’ve got a strikeforce as good as anyone’s in the division."
The Gas are up to ninth in League One after back-to-back wins, sitting just three points outside the play-offs at Christmas. Managerless Charlton, meanwhile, are 18th following three straight defeats.
But regardless of form, Barton believes it was a win to be proud of, although he will not allow his players to get ahead of themselves despite Rovers' brilliant form.
"We’ve got to be mindful of the trickiness of coming to The Valley, no matter what situation Charlton are in," he said. "Charlton is a massive club and I played here a number of times in the Premier League myself.
"They are in a tricky spot, but you have still got to earn the right to win and compete in football games.
"I felt we had to be sensible here in terms of keeping three men in the middle of the park. I knew the pitch would be bitty and I knew it wouldn’t be a slick passing football match. With their physicality of Stockley etc, you are going to be tested at the set play.
"It is really pleasing when the subs come on and impact the game in the way they did because I think that points massively to their attitude. They are not disappointed they are not starting and they understand their role in the squad.
"If we’re going to be successful this season, everybody in the squad is going to play their part and we are building nicely, but we’re going to stay hungry and humble and we’ve got another war next week at Wycombe."
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