Fleetwood boss Joey Barton targets win over Blackpool then 18 more to clinch promotion

Joey Barton aims to beat Blackpool at Highbury tomorrow and kickstart another winning run of the kind their nearest rivals have been enjoying.
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Player Fleetwood let go was outstanding against us admits Barton

After a run of five wins out of six lifted Barton’s side into the League One play-off zone, they have had to settle for one point from their two games over the past week.

Fylde coast bragging rights are at stake but what matters most to the Fleetwood boss is getting back to winning ways after Tuesday’s defeat at Northampton.

Joey Barton aims to embark on another winning run to propel Fleetwood back into the top sixJoey Barton aims to embark on another winning run to propel Fleetwood back into the top six
Joey Barton aims to embark on another winning run to propel Fleetwood back into the top six
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Keeping an eye on the bigger picture, Barton said: “We think you need to win up to 26 games to get promoted. We’ve won seven and we want as many as we can.

“We hope to start another run in a local derby on Saturday. The challenge we have is playing the way we want to play and getting the result.

“When it goes well we win seven and when it doesn’t we lose six. We’ve only drawn two out of 15 so far, but we have to try to win 26 to be promoted and score upwards of 80 goals, so you have to take the rough with the smooth.”

Barton expects a “streetfight” in the early stages as the teams battle for the right to play their football.

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He added: “We are going to need to be the best version of us to get anything out of the game. Games often start like a streetfight but then settle down, but sometimes derbies never settle down.

Blackpool probably go in as favourites based on their financial spend and the run of form they are on, beating Portsmouth last time out and Peterborough.

“Critch (Pool boss Neil Critchley) will possibly play a midfield block and try to catch us on the counter with the pace of CJ Hamilton and Sullay Kaikai, and I’m really looking forward to it because we lost last time out and we want to put that right.

“They will want to win to get within a point of us and we’ll want to win to put distance between the sides, and we want to get back into the good form we’ve been on.

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“I do expect us to beat Blackpool. They have more tradition and prestige but I expect us to win every game.

“Both teams are much changed from last year. They came here for Critch’s first game last season and we didn’t deserve to beat them. They had the better of the chances and 0-0 was probably fair, though it didn’t feel like a 0-0 game.”

Playing mind games ahead of big matches has sometimes backfired for Barton, as he admits, though he won’t become too cagey because “I find telling the truth quite liberating”.

However, he will be wary of highlighting opposition players in his team talks.

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The Town boss explained: “What I have learned is not to tell my players about the weaknesses in players I’ve had in the past.

“Before the last Blackpool game I targeted Hubby (James Husband) and he’s then marked Wes Burns out of the game and was outstanding.

“Then I spoke about Cian Bolger’s vulnerabilities in the build-up to the Northampton game and Bolg played great.

“I told him afterwards, ‘I’ve been targeting you all week, then you go and play like that and score the goal.’ You have to laugh about it.

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“From my perspective it’s never personal – it’s about trying to get a psychological edge and an advantage.

“Hubby is one of my favourite people to have coached. He was insecure when he came in but took accountability for his own career.

“He’s become a real leader in that group and for me that’s what coaching is all about – helping young men on their life journeys.”

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