Joey Barton believes Bristol Rovers are right in the mix for automatic promotion, if his team does the business at Rochdale on the penultimate day of the season.
The Gas are sixth in League Two, two points adrift of third-placed Northampton Town with two games to play, and a series of unhelpful results in midweek means Barton's side could need as many as four points to clinch a place in the play-offs. But the manager has his sights set on six out of six to give Rovers the best possible chance of sneaking into the top three.
Northampton, Port Vale and Mansfield Town all have a slight edge over Rovers in the points tally, although all three will play one of Forest Green or Exeter City sides that are gunning for the title. The Gas, meanwhile, face 18th-placed Rochdale at Spotland on Saturday before taking on already-relegated Scunthorpe United at the Mem on the final day.
Barton, though, has rubbished the notion that Rovers' opponents could already have an eye on their summer holidays and potential transfers away. He expects nothing but a tough test from Robbie Stockdale's Dale, but Barton is confident Rovers' will succeed.
"If we can manage to close out the away part of the season in a positive fashion, it gives us a right chance of having a say for the last automatic spot that it looks like five or six of us are going for," Barton said.
"I don’t think you come into a football match where teams don’t have much to play for because you’re always wanting to do well for your own professional pride. You want to do well because you don’t know who is watching the game in the stands, whether that’s family members or scouts of other clubs.
"Also, you get paid and you have a professional responsibility to your manager, teammates and the fans to give your absolute maximum, so for me they can be tricky because people naturally think someone’s not quite going to be at it. The absence of pressure for lots of players can really help them.
"They’re tricky games, they’re dangerous games. We know Rochdale are a good side from when we played them at our place. Robbie Stockdale will have them at it, they will want to continue their good form at home and spoil any ambition or momentum we have because they’re professional men and they’ll be giving their absolute all for their club and for their team.
"We expect the best version of them. We know we’ll be in for a tough game if we’re not absolutely wired in and at our best. We’ll be preparing for that because they’re a professional group and they’ll be wanting, for their own reasons, to finish their season as positively as they can."
Barton hopes to have Josh Grant available for the trip to Spotland after missing the 0-0 draw against Forest Green Rovers with a hamstring issue. Leon Clarke, though, will miss out.
"(Clarke) is not as bad as first feared," Barton added. "He won’t come into the matchday squad and he isn’t back out on the grass yet.
"He will probably be reliant on the season extending to make an impact. He’s disappointed to be missing games, but is working his way back into contention."
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