Latics wary of Barton factor

JOEY Barton will only be a spectator at Fleetwood tonight.

But as a man who knows all about the jagged edges of the fiery former Manchester City midfielder's personality, Athletic manager Paul Dickov believes his presence will be enough to lift players at the Fylde Coast club.

A media scrum formed at the Highbury Stadium yesterday as Sky Sports News and the rest of the hungry pack covered the beginning of the suspended QPR midfielder's training stint with the npower League Two club.

Barton, currently serving a 12-match ban for his antics at Eastlands on the final day of the Premier League season, took to social media this week to explain the reasoning behind the Fleetwood switch.

Dickov says that under the bluster lies a player and personality who will be a force for good.

"I know Joey well," said Dickov, whose team won 1-0 thanks to Zander Diamond's header against the same opponents a year ago.

"He has let himself down at times during his career and he knows that.

"But once you get to know him, as I did at Manchester City, he is fundamentally a good kid.”








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