Fleetwood Town boss compliments Sunderland ahead of Highbury meeting

Fleetwood Town welcome the Black Cats to Highbury on Friday (7.45pm) on the back of two excellent results, beating Bristol Rovers and Plymouth Argyle 4-1 and 5-1 respectively.

Barton’s men sit just ahead of Sunderland in the league table, level on points but with a superior goal difference, with both clubs just a point outside the play-off zone.

The mood around Poolfoot is understandably very positive and head coach Barton will have a wealth of talent to choose from, with no notable new injuries in the camp.

“It’s a very tough game for us,” the 38-year-old said. “They’ll fancy their chances. There will be no worrying about coming to Fleetwood from Sunderland and we look forward to that challenge.

“We’re in a spot where we’re happy to play anybody.

“We’ve got 32 wars left and we’ve got a big one coming on Friday night. We’re really looking forward to the challenge.”

Since tumbling out of the Premier League and into the third tier in rapid fashion, there has been plenty of expectation from the avid fans in the North East.

And even though the Black Cats have lost only two of their opening 12 league games, there have been calls for current boss Phil Parkinson to leave.

Barton offered support for his opposite number and praised his side, saying that Fleetwood can take nothing for granted tomorrow.

He added: “At this moment in time, we’ve got a great set of lads here who work hard every day.

“They’ve grafted again this week and are very humble, not thinking we’re just going to turn up and beat anybody.

“They know we’re going to have to put the hard yards in, knowing what a good side we’re coming up against.

“Phil’s under pressure from what I hear and I don’t see how. He’s done a fantastic job.

“For me, they were in the top two or three teams that we played last season, home and away. They’re a really good side.

“We drew both games. We were lucky to draw the home game, albeit they got a penalty, and in the away game they were lucky to draw with a last-minute goal.

“We were really closely matched. There wasn’t much between the two sides.

“They and Peterborough were unlucky to miss out on the play-offs last season because of points-per-game.

“This season, I think they’ve started solidly again.

“There’s very low XG (‘expected goals’ statistic) in terms of goals against them and they’ve only just gone on a bit of an iffy spell, getting beaten by Mansfield in the FA Cup, then by MK Dons, and Doncaster scored a late equaliser against them last time out.

“They will be competitive and Phil’s sides are always organised. They’ve got good players and they’ve got big expectations because of the level of that football club.

“And they will be a wounded animal because they’re not on the best run of results.”

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