Joey Barton insists his Bristol Rovers players have "nothing to fear" as promotion-chasing Sheffield Wednesday visit the Mem on Tuesday, with all the pressure on Darren Moore's side.
Barton's Gas hope to finish the season strongly after rediscovering their form in recent weeks, taking seven points from their past three games. They were highly impressive in Saturday's last-gasp draw with Derby County in BS7, dominating possession and forcing a Rams team pursuing a play-off place onto the back foot for long periods before Antony Evans' stoppage-time equaliser.
The Rovers manager is pleased with the frame of mind his team is in, although the competitor in him regrets a mid-season blip that scuppered any chance of a run at the top six in the final games of the campaign. But looking ahead to next season, he welcomes the challenge of taking on another of the league's elite teams.
The Owls, though, head to the Mem in the midst of a wobble in their pursuit of the top two, losing 3-2 at Burton Albion on Saturday, continuing a run of just one win in eight games to drop to third place, with Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town stealing ahead of them in the title race.
And Barton hopes to go one better after the Gas held their own in a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough live on Sky Sports in October.
"I will have to watch the Burton game and see what Burton did to them, but we will have a plan and we don’t fear them," Barton said. "We’ve got nothing to fear, we’ve got an opportunity to beat another good side in our stadium and give another good account of ourselves in front of a passionate fanbase.
"The only disappointing thing for me is these could be games where we have to win to get in the play-offs. I think we’re good enough at this moment and we are starting to get that belief in the group, but it’s important we bank it because we want to be challenging next season. We don’t want to be sitting in the middle of the table again."
"We’re disappointed we went to Hillsborough and never won in front of the Sky cameras. Certainly in the early part of the game, we caused a lot of problems for them.
"James Belshaw had to save us at times in that game and justifiably got man of the match, but we gave a great account of ourselves there and, as Derby found out on Saturday, the shoe’s on the other foot. We’re a young, hungry group full of legs and running, just getting stronger with no pressure.
"I think we are a really dangerous opponent. Sheff Wed are going to have to get something to keep pace with the automatic promotion push."
Josh Windass' likely absence through injury could be a telling advantage for the Gas, according to Barton, who believes the Owls have missed his former Rangers teammate's running power in recent weeks.
Wednesday's midfield talisman Barry Bannan has played in the more advanced role vacated by his teammate as a result and Barton says that has made Moore's side a slightly easier task for opposition teams, although he praised a player who is the "fulcrum of everything good that they do".
Regardless of the talent in Wednesday's squad, Barton believes his players can capitalise on the weight of pressure that is on the shoulders of their opponents on Tuesday night, with Argyle and Ipswich tipped to take maximum points from games against out-of-form Shrewsbury Town and Port Vale respectively on Tuesday evening.
"With Josh Windass out, since he’s done his plantar fascia, I don’t think they were getting anywhere near the points haul before that," Barton continued. "He’s a huge part of their arsenal.
"Obviously, they have got lots of talent as well, but when you’ve got his running ability in the team, it creates a bit more space for your Michael Smiths and Barry Bannans.
"They lost to Burton on Saturday and they are starting to get in that squeaky bum arena, which can be a real hindrance for people that aren’t used to that habitually.
"We’ve got to rest and recover and we’re confident we can cause any team in this division problems.
"We want to finish as high as we can in this table and also see the work we’ve got to do in the off-season to make sure that this time next year, we’re the team with a promotion push. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’ve made lots of steps in the right direction in recent weeks."
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