Joey Barton hopes to see Fleetwood faithful back at Highbury after two away games in front of fans

After winning in front of 2,000 Swindon supporters on Saturday, Town played out Tuesday's goalless draw at Portsmouth with the same number in attendance.

And it hasn’t come a moment too soon for head coach Barton, who said ahed of last night's game: “I’m delighted to see fans back in. You’d want to see grounds full and rocking because the atmosphere can drive players on, but this was a start and the light at the end of the tunnel with some fans in.

“It was strange having a crowd back but it’s long overdue. You want to see stadiums full but it can work both ways – fans certainly let you know about it if you aren’t playing good football, and some managers on a bad run of results could have been out of a job if there had been fans in.”

But what Barton really wants to see is the fans back at Highbury. The club hope that calls for the Fylde coast to move into tier two are answered in this week's government review and provisional plans were drawn up to admit supporters for Saturday’s home game against Wigan Athletic.

Barton added: “For us, the fans make the atmosphere and can stimulate an extra few per cent out of the players.

“The fans are football and matches have been like training ground games without them. We really need the fans behind us.

“Highbury has always been a tough place for other teams to come to, especially when the Fleetwood faithful have been roaring us on.”

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