Joey Barton: Tranmere a tougher test than top clubs for Fleetwood Town

Fleetwood would have taken the maximum 12 points from those games against Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough United, Portsmouth and Sunderland had not the Black Cats equalised in the seventh minute of added-time on Tuesday. But Barton believes his side will need to play better in order to get something at Prenton Park tomorrow.

Former Town manager Micky Mellon’s Tranmere are in the relegation zone and Cod Army boss Barton knows they will be fighting for their lives at 3pm tomorrow.

Barton said: “They had a good win at Shrewsbury during the week (3-2 thanks to another goal deep in stoppage-time), which will give them a load of confidence.

“Micky will be desperate to get one over his old club, mainly because they need the points to try to maintain League One status. This is as tough a game as we’ve had.

“I wasn’t really worried about Sunderland. I think those games a relatively easy to get up for. You’re going to play in a great stadium against an in-form team.

“In sides I played in that were chasing promotion, you always remember the games you’re expected to win because your opponents are down there in the table. But they’re the ones that prove the most difficult because they’re fighting for their lives.

“If we’re not better than we were on Tuesday night, then we won’t get anything out of this game.”

The Town boss wants his side to impose themselves on the game and added: “We know they’ve got lots of strengths but who’d want to play us at the minute? There are a lot of teams you would rather play than us.

“The Sunderland players were shocked with how good we were, certainly off some of the feedback we got.

“I think Portsmouth were surprised how much we’ve improved since the last time we played them.

“When you’ve got the ability we’ve got, I don’t fear anyone in the division and I don’t think the lads should

“If we win the 12 games we have left I think we’ll win the league. If we win 10 of them there’s a good chance we’ll win it. This league is wide open.

“We’ve played everyone and we know where everyone is at. We’ve had a dust-up with most of the major players in the division. We’re in the mix and that’s the beauty of it. If we have everybody fit, we don’t fear anyone.”

The Prenton Park pitch has come under fire, with parts of it lacking any grass cover, but that doesn’t concern Barton.

He added: “The pitch is what it is. My belief is good players can play on anything.

“The pitch is a leveller for people that haven’t got a great first touch and can’t play football.

“If we’re serious and we think we’re a proper football outfit, then we’ve got to be able to play on anything because great teams can win on anything.

“If it’s a scrap, then you have to win it; if it’s a football match, you have to win it; if it’s a running game, you have to win it.”