Joey Barton is working to sign a recognised left-back and a central midfielder in the mould of Sam Finley and Antony Evans as Monday's transfer deadline approaches.
Rovers have brought in striker Ryan Loft and centre-back James Connolly this month with Mark Hughes, Zain Walker, Zain Westbrooke and Jed Ward departing - the latter two on loan - while Junior Brown and Brett Pitman look set to leave as Barton fine-tunes his squad for the final 21 games of a League Two campaign in which the Gas are trending upwards.
Having teased the prospect of new signings last week, claiming he has a "something up his sleeve", Barton has stated precisely where he would like to strengthen with his desire to bring in a natural left-back is born out of a number of factors, predominantly around Josh Grant who has filled in on that side of defence.
Rovers recognise they need to improve the 23-year-old's durability during a three-game week plus there is an underlying wish to play him in his more natural position in central midfield.
Trevor Clarke's groin surgery means he's out for the next six weeks and while Nick Anderton has also operated at left-back but Barton wants the 25-year-old to focus on the centre of defence, increasingly his options in that position.
"I think we could do with a recognised left full-back," Barton said, following Rovers' 1-0 win over Walsall. "Mainly because it just allows Nick Anderton to come into left-side centre-half which I think is his natural position.
"He’s such a warrior for us, Nick. He’ll play anywhere he’s that type of boy. But again you’ve seen with Josh again, he’s so important to us, he’s such a good player but we’ve got to build resilience into his body.
"He’s done a couple of different positions. He started off centre midfield, ends up doing a great shift for us at full-back. Then at the back end of the game, he just felt a little bit of tightness.
"A three-game week is a big load for him. We took him off in the game Tuesday night to save him for the Saturday game and he’s 80 minutes and we’re down to 10, so the last thing I want is to lose Josh, so that was a precautionary measure.
"The lads who came on, Whelo (Glen Whelan) back from a week away for family reasons. Harvey (Saunders) back from a long lay-off. Harry Anderson, who’s been carrying a couple of niggles, the little break has given him some freshness.
"So, I’d probably play left full back and I think we could do with another Sam Finley, Antony Evans-type midfielder, but they’re difficult to find, especially when you’re a League Two manager. "
The latter statement, and the referencing of Evans and Finley, two League One-quality midfielders, indicates Barton wants a player higher up the period which will only increase speculation around Fleetwood Town's Callum Camps.
The 26-year-old would unquestionably be a significant addition to the squad and is admired greatly by Barton and his staff but bringing him to League Two does appear ambitious, to say the least.
Barton has Evans, Sam Nicholson, Luke Thomas, Aaron Collins and Sion Spence capable of playing as a central playmaker, and adding Camps would only increase the logjam in that area. The manager's preference is for a box-to-box midfielder who can operate from a deeper position alongside captain Paul Coutts and Finley.
However, there is also the consideration of strengthening the squad to safeguard the potential exit of Evans at the end of the season with the 23-year-old out of contract and his future in-part dependent on which division the Gas will be playing in for 2022/23.
Bristol Live understands the loan market is also being actively explored with the potential for a young player from the Championship, akin to Connor Taylor, also brought in but with no pre-season there are obvious concerns over the time needed to integrate an inexperienced individual into the group.
Monday could also see the departures of Pitman and Brown from the club with Barton allowing both to seek transfers away as they remain dogged by injury issues and a lack of gametime, taking up squad spots without being in a position to contribute effectively enough.
There is also a sense, perhaps more so than any previous injury issues, that Pitman's style no longer fits the system Barton want to play as Rovers have evolved through the course of the season.
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