Bristol Rovers owner Wael Al-Qadi on promotion miracle and why he stood by Joey Barton

In the city where they celebrate promotion by climbing traffic lights in full playing kit, Bristol Rovers owner Wael Al-Qadi revealed why he stood by manager Joey Barton.

And after the astonishing seven-goal romp which sealed a place in League One, Al-Qadi set his heart on the Gas renewing acquaintances with their rivals across town at Ashton Gate after 21 years in separate divisions. A Jordanian banker who has pumped around £20 million into the club, converting debts into shares, Al-Qadi joined the euphoric dressing room celebrations after Rovers' 7-0 rout of Scunthorpe pipped Northampton to automatic promotion on goals scored.

Barton's first promotion as a manager was an astonishing feat when his team was languishing in 17 th place in January, and he admitted: “There’s been loads of times that I’ve probably been close to getting sacked. If you ask Wael, I don’t think he’ll say that but I definitely felt that pressure.”

Mirror Sport did ask Al-Qadi, and he said: “I stood by Joe because he is a born winner. I knew he was desperate to succeed, desperate to give our fans a team to make them proud, and I was always prepared to give him time to make that happen.

“The squad he assembled was totally new, and I knew he needed the time to bed them in and to embrace his principles and structure. Even in the early days, when our results were hit-and-miss, I could see glimpses of what he was trying to achieve.

“When we lost 4-1 at Exeter early in the season, and we were taught a lesson, I thought 'That's the kind of football I would love to see at Rovers' – and within a few months, Joe delivered it. I never doubted him because I love a hard worker, and now we have the momentum of promotion, we must aim for the Championship. We want