Joey Barton demands no self-pity just hard work from Fleetwood squad

Town were rocked by two injuries before the clash at Kenilworth Road and suffered another just 10 minutes in.

Winger Wes Burns (hamstring) and right-back Lewie Coyle (ribs) missed the match and are again doubtful, while left-back James Husband limped off with a hamstring injury, leaving Town down to 10 men when Harry Cornick scored the first Luton goal.

But head coach Barton believes there is no point in his players feeling sorry for themselves and hard graft is the key to their bid to bounce back.

The Town boss said: “There is only so much you can do. Things happen with players’ bodies and injuries. It does turn the hair to a shade of grey from time to time.

“If it was long enough, I might have had a few strands pulled out but there is nothing you can do other than get back to pure hard work on the training ground.

“There is no time to feel sorry for yourself in this league because it is very unrelenting. Back to business this week.”

Fleetwood have visited five of the current top six, losing at Portsmouth, Peterborough and now Luton, while drawing at Sunderland and Charlton.

They face Porstmouth again before the year is out, while seventh-placed Doncaster also visit Highbury.

Barton is prepared for a tough fixture list and added: “That is the absurdity of this season so far. At the start of the season we were great away and not so great at home.

“That has been flipped on its head a little bit, though we have played most of the top six away.

“We have some tough fixtures coming up, starting with Burton on Saturday, and we have a couple of the big boys coming here before we see the New Year.

“Luton was a good physical test for us, a good test of where we are as a team.

“We have just got to keep believing in the group, in each other, and keep moving forward.”