The cult of Joey Barton? Inside Fleetwood Town's stunning form ahead of Sunderland clash

Fleetwood Town cannot become the ‘cult of Joey Barton’ as they look to dent Sunderland’s promotion hopes.
Fleetwood Town boss Joey BartonFleetwood Town boss Joey Barton
Fleetwood Town boss Joey Barton

That’s according to Barton himself who, having guided the Cod Army to an important victory over Portsmouth on Saturday, is now hoping to derail the Black Cats’ surge up the third tier table.

The former Newcastle United midfielder, who was handed the managerial role at Highbury last season, has also masterminded triumphs over Wycombe and Peterborough in recent weeks – and is now aiming to take away some of Sunderland’s growing momentum.

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“The challenges keep getting bigger and the stakes keep rising,” he said, speaking to Fleetwood’s official site.

“We're at the final table. We wanted to be there last year, and now we're at the final table. There's another round of cards been dealt today [Saturday], we've increased our chip stack from that, and we just need to keep growing and believing.

“Momentum is absolutely everything. We've taken some of Peterborough and Portsmouth's momentum away - now we need to go to Sunderland and do the same thing.”

Key to Fleetwood’s improved form, according to Barton, is the fact the side have moved away from being viewed as a ‘cult’.

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“We've got a real sense of belief and a real culture emerging at this football club,” he added.

“We spoke about it when we came in - this can't be the cult of Joey Barton.

“It did feel like that to me in the early skirmishes, and finally now we're starting to see our real culture emerge.”