Joey Barton outlines Zain Westbrooke's place in his plans at Bristol Rovers after loan woes

Joey Barton has been impressed by Zain Westbrooke's efforts in pre-season and the midfielder has done "nothing but enhance his claim" to force his way back into Bristol Rovers' squad for the season ahead.

Westbrooke was out of favour at the Mem last term, making just three league appearances for the Gas before joining Stevenage on loan in January. That move proved to be disappointing for the 25-year-old, with a managerial change midway through his time at the Lamex Stadium working against him.

But the former Brentford and Coventry City midfielder has returned to the Mem this summer determined to make a positive impression, and his manager was pleased with his performance in Tuesday's 2-0 win over Stoke City at the Mem.

He played in the role usually occupied by Sam Finley, operating slightly ahead of Jordan Rossiter, who took up Paul Coutts’ role as the pivot ahead of the back four. Westbrooke is always good for some neat touches and smart passes, but he got stuck into the physical side of the contest, too, battling to regain possession and engaging in a couple of shoulder-to-shoulder duels.

"I thought Zain did superbly," Barton said. "Zain has had a tough spell. His time at the club probably hasn’t gone as he would have wanted it, but I think everyone is aware of his qualities and he does have some really good qualities, especially on the ball.

"There is stuff off the ball that we’re asking him to work harder at and in pre-season, he has done nothing but enhance his claim. He’s been superb, he has a great attitude, he is a good lad, he trains properly every day and he is a really good teammate.

"I said to him at the start of pre-season ‘Look, it’s a blank slate for everybody’. Some of those lads don’t want to hear that