Fleetwood Town head coach Joey Barton spoke after his sides 1-0 loss away at Wycombe Wanderers on the final day of the season.
It was a frustrating evening in Buckinghamshire for Fleetwood Town and Joey Barton as they left Adams Park with nothing on the final day of the season, losing 1-0 away at Wycombe Wanderers.
In a match that saw both teams have chances, it was a set-piece that opened the deadlock, with Joe Jacobson scoring from his own corner on the right-hand side. Ash Hunter and Paddy Madden went close for the Cod Army, and if it wasn't for Ryan Allsop between the sticks, it might have been a different story.
Joey Barton spoke to the press after today’s game, here are his quotes:
On today’s game…
“I said to the lads at half-time, whatever happens I’m not going to come in here and start getting after you, you’ve been outstanding all year. Our lads have put it in, all the time and I can’t fault them.
“Second-half, arguably the best football we have played all year. We carved out multiple opportunities, Paddy is lethal usually and he’s left his shooting boots at home - he had that 20-goal mark playing on his mind a little bit.
“I can’t be disappointed, I’m gutted we’ve lost the game, I’m gutted for the lads that we go away with a defeat because we were outstanding in large parts. We’ve come a long, long way in a short time.
“I’m excited about the group and where this football club is going. I can’t fault the lads, they’ve been outstanding since I walked through the club and I’m so, so proud to be a part of this club, a part of this group and a part of this culture.”
On the summer ahead…
“We’ve got a lot of hard work to do, because the players we have identified are good players, so we won’t be the only club after them, and we have got to convince them that Fleetwood Town is the place to come and play their trade.
“I think all we have to do as a recruitment tool is show them the football that we play. You know we are playing a really good, attacking, ball on the ground brand of football. It’s great to watch, I loved watching the second half, apart from the goal we conceded. It’s really, really pleasing to watch it.
“Fans pay the money; they come and watch a game on the Saturday. We’ve got to entertain them and next season we will be even more efficient than what we are now because we are learning those lessons, albeit not quickly enough to get us in the promotion picture this season.”