Joey Barton says his trip to watch League Two champions-in-waiting Forest Green Rovers defeat promotion hopefuls Mansfield in midweek has only boosted his confidence in Bristol Rovers.
The Gas have fulfilled all their midweek fixtures after a chaotic run from January to March, and Barton took the chance to head to The New Lawn on Tuesday to get a closer look at both teams. Rovers host Forest Green at the Mem later this month, while the Stags could be a play-off opponent if either side falls short of automatic promotion.
Forest Green took a 1-0 win over 10-man Mansfield to take a huge step towards clinching the title, leaving Mansfield in sixth place and level on points with the Gas. Barton was asked what he learned from his night out in rural Gloucestershire.
"That sausage rolls don’t always have sausage in them," he replied jokily in reference to Forest Green's vegan-only food offering. "The chips and gravy was decent. I was surprised because gravy usually has a meat thing, but I don’t think they would have done that.
"Football-wise, absolutely nothing I didn’t already know. It gave me even more confidence for how we’re moving and what we’re doing. (Swindon Town manager) Ben Garner was sitting a few rows down and I think we were happy with the result. I think everybody sitting outside the top one wanted Forest Green to get a result because it kept it really tight and Mansfield had games in hand.
"For us, everybody in that promotion-chasing pack would quite happily see Forest Green win that type of game and it keeps the chasing group competitive.
"Football-wise, nothing I didn’t already know having played both of the sides already this season. It’s a tricky pitch at Forest Green and the stadium is not conducive, it was quite windy for a total football game and the stage of the season we’re at, the result is the most important thing.
"The sending off massively changed the game. If that didn’t happen, I think it might have been a lot tighter, but as it is Forest Green have given themselves an enormous opportunity of getting out of the division with that result. It was a big result for them."
Rovers face several of their fellow promotion contenders in the final six games, starting with a trip to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday. They then face Salford City, Port Vale and Forest Green in succession, with those fixtures sure to be a defining influence in the outcome of the Pirate's season.
Barton believes his team have been conditioned for high-stakes games against their immediate rivals because a poor start left them with minimal margin for error, with each dropped point coming at a heightened cost as they fought their way back into promotion contention.
Those experiences, he believes, leave his side well prepared for a trip to Prenton Park to face seventh-placed Tranmere.
"I told you a few weeks ago, we’re lucky," he said. "A mate of mine the other day was telling me about this high-stakes gambling guy he knows who would play golf in America and his gig was he’d play golf for £250,000 a round. He said he’d play against anybody off scratch for £250,000, and by the time he got to the 16th, 17th hole, anybody he was playing against was shaking like a s****** dog because they were so nervous and he wasn’t because he was used to playing for that amount of money.
"This guy was is a multi-billionaire by the way, but he made his money in gambling. He worked out he was able to control the emotion because he was so used to playing for high stakes all the time and these guys weren’t and they were affected by that. Why I mention that is it is a cross-reference for us. Every game has been a cup final with absolutely everything on it because of our slow start to the season.
"We have felt the pressure for the last three or four months, so we’re well versed in it and every game has got higher stakes attached. I said to the lads it is a privilege to feel pressure, I really do feel to have something on the line like we have. Tranmere are the same, by the way. They have got as much to lose or gain as we have, whereas Bradford last week can play a little bit differently because of the league position and what they have at stake.
"If you offered me the contrast between this season and last season with everything and nothing, when in the last six games we were in a death spiral, to possibly a really good end to the season for everyone involved at the football club, we’d take this pressure every single moment.
"I don’t see it as pressure, but there is a nervousness and expectation. But, as I say, we’ve had this for a long period. This is not the first weekend we’re going to feel this. We’ve had this rumbling on because we’ve been in high-stakes games for the past two months."
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