Fleetwood Town will not take Guiseley lightly

Fleetwood Town boss Joey Barton will not take National League North side Guiseley for granted as they meet in the FA Cup this evening.
Joey Barton takes his Fleetwood Town side to Guiseley this eveningJoey Barton takes his Fleetwood Town side to Guiseley this evening
Joey Barton takes his Fleetwood Town side to Guiseley this evening

Barton had come under scrutiny for his decision to make 11 changes for Town’s Carabao Cup defeat at Leicester City earlier in the season.

However, as with last month’s FA Cup first round trip to Alfreton Town, the Fleetwood boss is planning on putting out a strong XI.

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He said: “When we played in the League Cup, we maybe did not put our strongest XI out.

“For us, the FA Cup, we will be strong.

“It was a decision we made earlier in the season.

“If we do manage to progress and pull out a side in a different division we would have a different approach than we maybe did at Leicester in the League Cup.

“Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves; if you take your eyes off the prize, it could be a banana skin.

“Guiseley will be competitive, a good occasion for everyone; hopefully it is a cracking game of football and we win.”

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The match is being shown live on BT Sport, meaning both teams will be in the unusual position of knowing what lies ahead in round three with the draw taking place before their match starts.

“Both sides will know who they are likely to play in the next round before the game kicks off,” Barton said.

“It is a strange one. Usually you get yourself in the hat for the next round and wait to see who you get.

“Us and Guiseley will get the opportunity to see that.

“Hopefully it is a really good cup tie.”

Town go into the game, hoping to build momentum following their 3-0 win against Coventry City at Highbury in midweek.

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Dean Marney, Wes Burns and Ched Evans were all on target as Barton’s players enjoyed the ideal preparation for tonight’s match.

Barton said: “For us it is always nice in front of your own fans to win the game in the manner that we did.

“Certainly, second half, having watched the game back and gone over it I thought we had a real intensity about us and had a real purpose coming out of the dressing room at half-time to win a game of football and we get the just rewards for that.

“We have got a bit of momentum going into it off the back of the Coventry game.

“We just keep building from our perspective.”