Fleetwood boss Joey Barton says: Greatest club competition in world just isn't the same this season

Joey Barton says his Fleetwood side will be underdogs at Hull despite beating them 4-1 last month

Barton praises team but not officials after defeat at Charlton

Town comfortably won that League One fixture at home but tomorrow they face the Tigers in the FA Cup at the KCOM Stadium (3pm).

Barton thinks the first-round tie can benefit his side in multiple ways – by starting a potential cup run for the Cod Army and giving them additional information ahead of the clubs’ next league meeting.

“They’re a good side,” Barton said. “Tom Eaves and Josh Magennis will be back and it will probably be Malik Wilks at number nine. They’ll probably be a bit more physical.

“It’s a team we’ve already beaten this year and a team we’ll relish the challenge of.

“It’s somewhere we’ve got to go further down the line in our League One campaign (a rematch scheduled for April) and it’s a chance for us to sort our own cup run.”

Although an FA Cup run is always an exciting prospect, it just isn’t the same for the Town head coach Barton without fans.

The incentive of prize money for progressing is still there but clubs stand to miss out on a windfall from fans buying FA Cup tickets.

And despite that victory in their last meeting, Barton doesn’t think his side will be viewed as favourites going into what he considers the best cup competition in the world.

He said: “It’s strange this year with no crowds. Everyone is wanting the big club in the third round, which probably won’t have the same appeal as it has in previous seasons. It’s a cup competition, the greatest club competition in the world in my opinion.

“We’ve got a tough fixture in Hull and we’ll probably be the underdogs for that game, even though we beat them last time out.

“It’s another opportunity to see what we’ve got in terms of the playing group.

“We’ve got some really good players, and I thought they showed real bravery and character to go 2-0 down at Charlton, then get ourselves back in the game and control large parts of it.

“We’ve just got to be a bit more cute in terms of keeping the back door shut.”

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