Joey Barton refuses to blame disrupted preparation as Fleetwood lose at Southend - 7M sport

Joey Barton refuses to blame disrupted preparation as Fleetwood lose at Southend



Posted Sunday, September 23, 2018 by PA

Joey Barton refuses to blame disrupted preparation as Fleetwood lose at Southend

Fleetwood manager Joey Barton refused to make excuses following his side’s 1-0 defeat at Southend United.

Simon Cox bagged the only goal of the game to secure all three points for the Shrimpers at Roots Hall.

But Barton – whose preparations were hit by a cancelled plane and a bout of food poisoning – felt Town should have picked up a point.

“We took about 10 hours to get here, our plane was cancelled and we had to dash across and get a train,” said Barton.

“Then we’ve had a bout of food poisoning this morning and lots of lads have gone down with poor tummies.

“We think it’s from our training ground because a lot of the under 23 players have come down with it too.

“But we still had more than enough about us to come here and get at least a point.

“I’m not going to use any of those excuses and it is a game that, if we are honest, should have finished 0-0. We can definitely be better.

“Ideally preparation would be better and we try and control as much as we can control but unfortunately when it comes to bacteria and mother nature, even I can’t control that.”

Southend had the better of the first half with Theo Robinson, Timothee Dieng and Taylor Moore all being denied by Fleetwood goalkeeper Alex Cairns.

But the visitors came close to breaking the deadlock at the start of the second half when Paddy Madden headed against the outside of the right post from close range.

However, the Shrimpers hit back and bagged what proved to the only goal of the game when Theo Robinson intercepted a poor pass from Fleetwood defender Cian Bolger before bursting into the left hand side of the penalty area and crossing for Cox to tap home from six yards.

Fleetwood’s misery was compounded by a stoppage time red card for substitute James Wallace.

But Southend boss Chris Powell was a relieved man after seeing his side get back to winning ways after three successive League One defeats.

“I’m relieved to get the three points because it keeps us going in what is a tough league,” said the Southend boss.

“It’s been tough for us recently but I say thank you to the players who have kept together and kept their belief too.

“We’ve been playing well but you’re judged on results. We’ve been hurt by some last minute goals here but they’ve responded to it.

“We went back to basics this week with our training and attitude to see if it would change our fortune.

“It was a good performance and result against a side who have made a good impression this season and I’m sure they will continue to do so.”

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