Joey Barton praises players and referee after Fleetwood win clash of styles at Gillingham

Having taken one point from their previous two League One games, Barton's side recorded a 2-0 win in Kent thanks to second-half goals from strikers Paddy Madden and Ched Evans.

It was a game which threw up some unexpected challenges for Town, with Gillingham's coronavirus concerns resulting in the visitors being housed in a makeshift changing room, with the benches on the touchline positioned further apart.

What Barton had expected was a direct, uncompromising approach from Steve Evans' Gills and he felt his side handle that extremely well.

Barton said: "They’re a big, physical side. There are no right or wrong ways to play the game - it’s all about getting results.

"I know the way I want to play, how I like the game played and what I want to watch on the touchline.

"Steve’s been incredibly successful over the years and managed some really big football clubs.

“It’s horses for courses and I’m not going to tell anybody how to play the game.

“For our group we have to stand up to that examination, the physicality.

“That’s football and the ref’s there to do a job - he did a good job. He’s a really good ref and even the penalty we thought we should have had he explained it really well."