Portsmouth critic Joey Barton remains ‘buoyed’ by Bristol Rovers' potential following difficult start and Blues prediction

But that prediction isn’t quite going to plan at this moment in time, with his Gas side currently 21st in the League One table while the Blues sit second.

Indeed, Barton & Co have picked up just eight points from their opening nine games and most recently fell to a 6-3 home defeat to Lincoln on Saturday.

Not for the first time this season, the Rovers boss was full of excuses for his side’s latest performance.

The former Newcastle and Man City midfielder believed the Imps were ‘lucky’ to come away with the three points from the Memorial Stadium despite being hit for six.

And although Barton's side haven’t replicated the promotion-winning form that saw them return to the third tier at the end of last term, back-tracking again from earlier remarks, he now believes his outfit will have ‘absolutely no problems’ retaining their League One status.

In fact, the 40-year-old insists he likes what he sees from his side, despite being keen to add reinforcements to his squad via the free-agency market.

He told Bristol Live: ‘If we were top of the table at this moment, you’d be happy and you’d be buoyed but you wouldn’t be thinking you’re going to get promoted. Similarly, if you’re at the bottom of the table.

‘You’re always looking where that is because you don’t want to be near it, and if we’re there after 29 or 39 games... I know I’m going to get cards in my hand that is going to give us a lot stronger hand going forward.

‘We’ve just got to make sure we start taking points off the board as soon as we can. It’s never nice not winning games of football.

‘You can lose 9-0, you feel like you’ve lost four points because you also lose the psychological factor but we’ve lost 6-3, and we’re down, and look there are lads who are not happy.

‘But weirdly I’m buoyed by what I’ve seen offensively and I know once we get those reinforcements we’ll have absolutely no problem in the division.’

Former Pompey striker John Marquis was one of Barton’s attacking summer additions after he penned a two-year deal following his Lincoln departure.

After tough spells with both the Blues and the Imps, his start to life at the Memorial Stadium has also been far from ideal, scoring just one goal in 13 outings.

This has seen the 30-year-old benched for the Gas’ past two League One outings.