Fleetwood Town boss Joey Barton spoke to the media at Poolfoot Farm on Friday ahead of facing Rochdale this weekend.
Town make the short trip to Greater Manchester on Saturday afternoon to face Keith Hill’s side, looking to build on an unbeaten start to the league in 2019.
Barton will return to the touchline this weekend after serving his two match touchline ban, and here’s what he had to say ahead of the game…
On the game against Rochdale...
“There has been flashes of what we can do this week in training and for me we have to be patient in what we do. It’s difficult to change direction in how we get results because the individuals in our team have caused oppositions problems and for me it’s how we controlled games.
“A one nil win as a coach is the best result in the game, as it shows you have the capability of controlling the flow of the match. At this moment, we haven’t done it effectively enough.
“I get there’s been flamboyant results this season, but the core of the season is built on those scrappy one nil wins and that is the bread and butter.
“That’s how you build a promotion side, we aren’t there yet but we need to do more of what we are capable off. We are the best side in the league when it comes to first half performances, but in the second half we aren’t the best so that’s something we will work on that because we have many ideas, but football isn’t always about science.”
On the long term project…
“I have an impatient ambition and I have to taper that because you have to be mindful of what is going on at this football club. It needed a change in terms of the culture in my opinion and we are doing just that.
“We have a real focus on what we want to do and how we want to do it, but obviously at this level it takes a period of time and you do have to understand at times that I was brought here on a three year deal to do a job over that time. There might be people who would be happy where we are, but I expect to win every game in a certain manner.
“I accept that sometimes it might not be the most realistic position, but also nobody should settle for mid table or second best as it isn’t natural for me.”
On the transfer window so far…
“I am very happy with what we have got at the moment as we have some very good players here. If a club does come in for a player, we will need to look at that but I don’t see that happening and for me the focus is what we have.
“The majority of the players know they have a role here and there’s one or two young players or senior players that we feel might need to go out on loan. They just need to play as football is a short career and you need to make the most of it.
“With recent outgoings, it will allow us to give opportunities to players who maybe we’d look at in 6 to 12 months time. Those players must be ready and focused because they might get thrown into the deep end, but they are pushing hard and we will have to see.”