Joey Barton rekindles Celtic Rangers rivalry with cheeky jibe at Scott Brown

Joey Barton stated that Fleetwood Town fans will have been disappointed at their change in style after his Bristol Rovers side beat them 2-1.

Barton won on his first visit back to Highbury Stadium, a ground he called home for two-and-a-half-years. Everton defender Lewis Gibson - who was with him at The Fishermen, scored his first goal to equalise after Jayden Stockley’s opener and then Grant Ward scored with a cross-hit shot with no response from the hosts.

The win put Rovers one step closer to securing League One survival, with now 13 points between them and the drop zone with a game in hand over 21st-placed Accrington. Barton set a target of 52 points at the start of the campaign, and now he is just one point off of that with seven games remaining.

Monday’s win also saw him beat his former arch nemesis from his days as a player with Rangers, as he beat Celtic hero Scott Brown. Brown had the beating of him in Barton’s short time in the Old Firm, and the 40-year-old made a comment about the brand of football the former Hoops captain has at Fleetwood.

In his post-match interview with BBC Radio Bristol, he said: “I think we were the better side on the afternoon, we were the only side trying to play football.

“They’re effective at what they do, Fleetwood fans must be disappointed Joey Barton’s not the manager because we were a miles better football team than what they’re seeing at the minute. It’s Fleetwood’s loss and Bristol Rovers gain.”

Rovers trailed at half-time but made two substitutions which affected the outcome of the game. Antony Evans and John Marquis made way for Josh Coburn and Ryan Loft, and the physical pair helped bring their teammates in to the game. Neither got on the scoresheet but drew tackles and fouls from the opposition and were hailed for their input.

“I thought we were good value for the victory,” Barton added. You have to factor the weather in here, it’s bizarre. You can feel the wind now and it’s been a lovely April Easter day but the wind here is a factor.

“We were in to the wind and it made it tricky because they want to kick it long and pin you in and they’re quite effective at that. Second-half, when I knew we had the wind we wanted some central corridor penetration and obviously Lofty and Josh came on and gave us that platform.”