Joey Barton has confirmed that Paul Coutts will be part of his coaching staff moving forward with the Bristol Rovers captain’s playing contract expiring next month.
Coutts hasn’t played since February due to a knee injury but has remained part of the squad when possible and on Sunday, for Rovers’ final game of the 2022/23 season, was sporting a coaches’ tracksuit embossed with his initials on the front.
It’s unclear whether the Scot will take on a player/coach role, similar to Glenn Whelan in the most recent season, or will strictly focus on being part of Barton’s staff but the manager is delighted to welcome into his ever-expanding backroom team.
Coutts will therefore join Whelan, who has retired and will be a full-time coach next season, plus assistants Andy Mangan and Danny Ventre alongside Barton, with Anssi Jaakkola - another man out of contract - also possibly retained to oversee the goalkeeping department with David Coles.
Coutts has made 68 appearances for the Gas and was a key component of the League Two promotion squad, and his influence as a mentor, organiser and leader to the younger elements of the squad has been evident throughout Barton’s tenure.
“Yeah,” Barton said, when asked if Coutts is now part of the coaching group. “We haven’t made that official yet but we’ve been giving Couttsy a bit of work experience because his kees have finally caught up with him.
“I do believe in people that have done well for you, giving them an opportunity. The footballing landscape is quite peculiar in terms of people won’t give Glenn and Couttsy jobs because they’re petrified that they’ll take their job. I get that. But, for me, those lads have been incredible servants, and have done great things every single day for us. If they want to get into that space, it’s important for me as the leader to create opportunities.
“But it’s not a charity, they won’t just get a position because they’ve retired. They’ve had to show really good stuff in our building.
“As a route map going forward, if you’re a player who signs for me and does really, really well, I’ll help you for the rest of your life. And I think developing and delivering loyalty is something that is often missed in the pursuit of excellence in professional football.”
Coutts’ ascension into the position has seemed inevitable, in part due to Barton’s words above, but also because there’s been precedent with Whelan, who was absorbed into the staff last summer after deciding to play on for a second season in blue and white.
He brought the final curtain down on his storied career on Sunday as he was brought on for the final 11 minutes of the 3-2 defeat to Bolton, before being replaced in the last minute of normal time to receive a standing ovation from the Mem crowd.
“Milking it like a diva” as Barton quipped, while tributes to the midfielder’s career came from former Aston Villa teammate Jack Grealish and the Republic of Ireland set-up.
While, relatively speaking, Whelan’s contribution on the pitch this term have been sporadic - albeit each one of his 18 appearances in 2022/23 far more than what was probably expected this time last year - his impact elsewhere in the club remains considerable.
Rovers are still fundamentally a young group - something Barton hopes to remedy in the summer transfer window - and the guidance and professionalism of individuals such as Whelan have been vital in their development.
Because those senior players can ultimately find a different connection to the junior members of the ranks than Barton who has to maintain a certain sense of emotional and personal distance.
“You don’t see everything from the terraces but watching the team you see how everyone is every single day and Glenn’s standards, regardless of who he’s playing against or who he’s playing against, have remained at international level and I think he’s been a fantastic cultural ambassador for our group,” Barton added.
“Your Luca Hooles, Lewis Gordons, to see somebody at that age, in that stage of his career with that level of detail and profession and the way he prepares for games, I think it can do nothing but stand those lads in good stead for what’s to come.
“It’s all well and good me moaning at them but when you see someone doing it every single day, it’s a much better example. Glenn’s been outstanding for us and now he has to hang his boots up. It’ll still be tough getting him off the training pitch, he’ll be wanting to join in next season, I’m just going to have to not register him to play. But I guarantee you he’ll turn up in pre-season and go, ‘hang on, I’m not quite done here’.
“Luckily for us, he’s acted like a bit of a diva and milked the crowd for the applause so hopefully that is the end of the road for Whelo.
“I think for Bristol Rovers to have a 92-cap Irish international captain bow out is a sign of good progress for the football club and hopefully we have a few more top 90-cap internationals retiring for us because that would mean we’re getting some good players.”
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
READ NEXT:
