Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton hopes Wanderers will have “one eye on what’s to come” when they head to the Memorial Stadium on Sunday.

Ian Evatt’s men have already secured their play-off spot following last weekend’s 2-0 win against Fleetwood at the UniBol.

Barton hopes his side can cause the Whites a few problems as they aim to finish the campaign on a positive note.

"We know from going up there earlier in the season that they are a good side,” he told Bristol Live. “I will pick as strong a team as I can, we will see where the bodies are.

"You want to see where you are compared to those top chasing sides. We’ve done really well against the better teams, it’s the lump-it teams that we struggle against so we are going to have to change that next season.

“Hopefully, we can cause Bolton some problems on Sunday. They’ve got one eye on what’s to come and we might just catch them, but we’ve got to be at our best - certainly better than we were at the start of each half on Tuesday.

"It’s important we finish well. We haven’t won in five or six so we want to finish in our stadium in front of a sold-out Mem, which is superb, on a positive and send the Gasheads away with a spring in their step and excited about what’s to come next season.

"It’s natural, once you’re safe and there is nothing to play for, that the season kind of peters out. But we need to make sure we give a great account of ourselves in front of our fans on Sunday."

Barton also confirmed that midfielder Luke McCormick is set to miss this weekend’s game against the Whites.

There were high hopes when McCormick arrived at the Memorial Stadium 12 months ago but his season has been impacted by injury.

The 24-year-old was hoping to get some minutes under his belt during the final matches of the campaign but has been unavailable due to dental trouble.

"He’s struggling with his wisdom teeth. He probably needs them out so his season is done for me, that’s how I see it. We want to get a good pre-season into him,” Barton added.

"Macca is one of those who is guilty of missing a pre-season. He had a problem getting out of the club he was at.

“He was sent with the under-23s and missed a big chunk of pre-season and it has cost him. He hasn’t been able to hit the ground running."