Fleetwood Town camp prepare for a pitch battle at Tranmere Rovers

The Fleetwood Town boss said: “We saw what the Tranmere pitch was like for the Man United game (in the FA Cup fourth round last month) and it doesn’t look like it’s improved.

“With the weather we’ve had, I doubt even the greatest groundsman on earth could get that pitch ready for total football.

“It’s another challenge, and as our team usually do, we’ll find a way of dealing with it with the fitness levels and quality we’ve got.

“We’ve cut no corners in any training session and we’re going to finish this season very strongly. If teams keep pace with us or better us, they will have earned and deserved it.”

Town’s winning run was ended by Sunderland’s last-gasp equaliser on Tuesday, and in a way, Barton thinks that could be a good thing.

“Had we won six on the spin people might have started to change us from dark horses into a bit more of a fancied team but we like to be underdogs,” he said.

“It’s David v Goliath in many regards except when we cross that white line.”