Fleetwood Town head coach Joey Barton has spoken to the press ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet League One match against Barnsley.
Barton’s side suffered their first away loss of the season last weekend as Southend United came out 1-0 winners at Roots Hall, with the staff and players ready to put things right at home against The Tykes.
The Cod Army will be looking to bounce back on Saturday at Highbury, and the key message from the press conference was that Barton expects a reaction from his players, and knows it will be another good test for his team.
Here are the key quotes from Joey’s presser…
On this weekend’s opponents…
“We have a big challenge ahead of us in a very good Barnsley team, and it is a game we are very capable of winning.
“Results are important to build that culture and we’ve had some real positives ones, along with some kicks up the backside and it will be interesting to see how we respond from Saturday.
“They [Barnsley] are a very strong side in this division, but just like ourselves, there are going through a sticky time and again, when we look at the footage and what personal we have on offer, it is more than winnable.”
On bouncing back…
“I think in the Sunderland game we acquitted ourselves very well and maybe could have played a bit better than what we did, and we can definitely improve from our game at Southend.
“The last few games are games we think we could do better in and when I look at the Scunthorpe game, where we were very pinnacle, we haven’t had the same eleven on the pitch which has unsettled the run and the groove we had going.
“This is football, it is a long hard season in League One and I still think we have 150 games left in the league. There will be peaks and troughs all throughout and if I am being realistic, I expect things to be done at a certain level and to then use that to push forward.
“To be fair to the group every time we have had a negative result, the response has always been first class and what we have expected.”
On team news…
“We have a couple of players who have recovered from the virus in the camp and there are a couple more who will train today, and tomorrow ahead of the game. There are two who are a bit further behind, and will probably be ten days or so away from being back.
“The series of games coming up might just be to close for some players, but everybody else is progressing and we will get full complement back as soon as we possibly can.
“Ryan Taylor and Ross Wallace are two players who have undoubted qualities. Ross got time at the weekend and showed flashes of what he is capable off. Ryan has been waiting for his work permit but all is clear now and he is in contention for the weekend.
“Both bring a wealth of experience into the team and to be able to bring these two players in is an added bonus. Both are a credit to their profession and both want to be here and be part of the group.”