John Ward would be interested in signing John-Joe O'Toole on permanent basis John Ward has confirmed that he would like to bring midfielder John-Joe O’Toole back to the Memorial Stadium on a permanent deal over the summer. O’Toole plays the final game of of his three-month loan spell at Dagenham & Redbridge on Easter Monday before returning to parent club Colchester United for the remainder of the season. The dynamic midfielder has been one of the leading lights in Rovers’ changing fortunes over recent months, which has seen Ward’s side claw themselves away from the foot of the table to within touching distance of guaranteed survival. When asked whether O’Toole, who quickly became a fans’ favourite following a number of all-action displays, could return to the Memorial Stadium on a more permanent basis, Ward replied: “I don’t know. “John-Joe has another year on his contract at Colchester, and, that he has done so well for us also won’t have gone unnoticed by other clubs. “I would be like all of our supporters and say I would like that to happen, but I can’t make any guarantees on that at the moment and neither can John-Joe.” O’Toole, meanwhile, has scored two goals after making 16 starts for Rovers and Ward added: “I’d worked with John-Joe for three years at Colchester so I had no worries over his attitude to playing football. “I knew he would make an impact on us pretty much immediately. He took the bull by the horns and really bought into the cause we talked about when I first took over and the team were struggling. “He’s flourished with that responsibility and I think he’s really enjoyed himself.” Oliver Norburn looks the most likely to fill O’Toole’s shoes for the remainder of the campaign – although the young midfielder has not recovered from an ankle injury in time to be considered for selection in either game over the Easter weekend period. Rovers open their Easter campaign with a game against struggling York City at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday and Ward said: “If we show any complacency because we have won our last four home games on the bounce then chances are that we will get turned over. “It is important that we approach the game in the right frame of mind and relaying that message to the players will be a big part of my team-talk. “We have a run of fixtures against teams around the bottom of the league between now and the end of the season, but you can’t read much in to that. “Some people may have looked at us in that way a couple of months ago and yet we still managed to win games against teams around the top of the league. “We still have a lot to play for because I want us to finish in the top-half-of-the-table. I won’t settle for just doing enough to scrape over the line.”
yes please, as long as he performs as i suspect he will be a high earner. dont want players who are here for the money.
I like the fact that JW wont settle for just avoiding relegation he wants mid table......suggest that he gets a better bonus the higher he finishes up also negotiations on a new contract are easier, personally as long as we are safe the position is academic if its job done by easter weekend then I will feel positive fingers crossed. COR
