Fleetwood Town boss Joey Barton spoke to the media after his side’s 3-0 win away at AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night.
Ched Evans returned to the team after his two match suspension and bagged a brace in the first half. Ash Hunter came on late on to make it three and a clean sheet for Barton’s side.
Here are the key quotes from his post-match press conference…
On the game and the performance…
“This is what we were crying out for and in the first part of the season we were doing just that. I do think the lessons that we are learning in terms of the team’s structure, and the way we are playing and the formation, all the hard work on the training ground is starting to pay real dividends.
“Wimbledon isn’t an easy place to come and they are fighting for their lives. They have already beaten us twice already this season and to perform in the manner that we did, with a clinical manner, it was very pleasing.
“I think they might have had some stern words said to them at half-time. I expected that response and I know Wally [Downes] well from my time at Queens Park Rangers, so I knew they were going to be tough.”
On the front three and Ched’s goals…
“I thought we were excellent, and are probably a shade unfortunate to not at least score another couple of goals in the game. Ched had a few chances with a one on one and so did Paddy [Madden] and Ashley Nadesan.
“Our front three were magnificent today and I have to say it was a real team performance and to win three nil away from home is always pleasing.
“Ched was great today and there was a lot of good work done from Ross Wallace and from our other front man Wes Burns was playing at right back due to Lewie Coyle’s red card.
“Wes has been fantastic since I have been at the club and he can play in a multiple of positions for us and his performance have been admirable. He’s an intelligent player and when asked to do a job, he did an excellent job and did great going forward, and defensively.
“We mixed it up, upfront and it’s always nice to see someone come in after a few games out and get back on the scoresheet, and it was probably good for him to get the frustration out with those goals.”
On going into the last 17 games of the season…
“Let’s not get carried away with the one result, when we came into the match we hadn’t won in four, but were unbeaten in three of those matches. It is a weird league this season and we have seen the league leaders drop points but we just have to take it one game at a time.
“Tonight was a really good performance and a really good result away from home and we now run into two home fixtures and we have to get rolling back at home and in the seeds that are being sowed at the moment, will stand us in good stead.
“I have spoken before about people being patient and people working hard. There was a watershed moment after the last Wimbledon game where we decided to go a certain way, and it’s early days with that but are controlling the possession and with the second and third phases of the match.
“It’s all down to hard work on the training ground and the players deserve a huge amount of credit.”