By his own admission, Luke McCormick hasn’t been anywhere near his best since becoming a permanent Bristol Rovers player for the first time but with the momentum of the Gas and the guidance of Joey Barton, the midfielder believes he can reach new heights in his career.
McCormick was arguably Rovers’ most high-profile signing of the summer as an exhaustive two-month attempt to land the 23-year-old from AFC Wimbledon finally ended in late August with Rovers agreeing an undisclosed six-figure sum.
It reunited the former Chelsea academy starlet with Barton after his successful, at least on an individual level, loan spell in the 2020/21 season and with another full EFL campaign under his belt with the Dons, the Gas would see an even-more-improved McCormick.
However, having missed pre-season after being exiled from the first-team in south London, he’s struggled to find consistency to his game as he’s been in an out of the side - making five starts in League One and another three appearances off the bench - while being asked to perform in a variety of roles, including wing-back.
McCormick says he’ll “run through brick walls for the gaffer” but Tuesday night’s EFL Trophy win over Swindon Town, in which he scored and completed 90 minutes for the first time since his final appearance for AFC Wimbledon on April 30, allowed him to showcase his talents in his natural central midfield role.
“I'm just trying to get back to my best,” McCormick said. “I can sit here and make excuses about my lack of pre-season and this and that, but it’s a load of rubbish, I just want to get back to my best and show the Gas what I can really do.
“For me, that was my first 90 minutes in… God knows, maybe since last season, so that’s brilliant for me to get a real block of work into my legs, albeit against a reduced side but, rest up, and then go again.
“This was the one place I wanted to come, that was well known, and from the club’s side they’ve moved heaven and earth to get me here. It wasn’t a straightforward one but I’m here now and I’d really like to get back to knowing what I can do. And that’s been frustrating but to get 90 minutes and get a goal, that’ll do me a big favour.
“Even tonight, that’s nowhere near my level. I know I’ve got a lot more to give and, listen, if anyone is going to get it out of me, it’s the gaffer and the staff. I know it’s there, they know it’s there, so it’s about chipping away and working at it every day. I can’t think of a manager who has brought that out of me and has seen that there’s more in me.”
It’s been evident that McCormick has been short of rhythm, not dissimilar to Rovers as a collective prior to this month, amid injury issues and constant enforced selection changes, but it was clear he sensed the tie against Swindon was an opportunity to play his way into form and stake a claim for more starting opportunities, including against Plymouth Argyle at the Mem this Saturday.
There were bright moments in the first half, with one salvo with ex-Gas defender Cian Harries before delivering an accurate cutback to Jerry Lawrence showcasing the cocktail of endeavour and imagination he can offer.
In the second half, he went up another level. With Swindon down to nine men, the players in the blue and white quarters had a stage to impress and McCormick was eye-catching.
There was confidence and trickery on the ball when the time was right, and his goal that made it 3-0 showed a ruthless streak. He raced onto Trevor Clarke's through ball down the left side and still had a lot of work to do, but he strafed inside at speed and neatly placed the ball beneath the sprawling Sol Brynn to complete the scoring.
Starting against Plymouth would seem a long shot, given Barton fielded the trio of Paul Coutts, Jordan Rossiter and Sam Finley in the 4-1 win over Cheltenham Town and they look set to be in the starting XI against Argyle, with the former two not playing against Swindon. But there's not much more McCormick could have done to get himself into the pre-match selection conversation.
“It’s a really strong squad and that gives the gaffer a good headache. We’re a tight-knit group and the momentum is ours to lose now,” he added, with the Gas having gone unbeaten in six matches across league and cup, winning their last five games.
“We’re on a run now and momentum is massive in football so, for me, I want to jump on that wave and I want to get that and keep it, individually as well as the team.
“It’s well-known I’ll run through a brick wall for the gaffer, so if he asks me to play wing-back, I’ll play wing-back. I’m just trying to scratch for some form. I know what I can do. It’s football, it’s confidence, if I could bottle it up and drink it, I would.
“The important thing is we’ve kept that momentum as a winning team and whoever’s picked to wear the quarters on Saturday, that’s their job to go and do it again.”
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