Barton's Verdict On Toon Defeat

Joey Barton: "It was a terrific victory, we worked really hard for it. We went into the game with a plan, and we're happy that we came out on the right side of the result.

"Every game now is really important, everybody knows that and after this win there's another couple of clubs who are looking over their shoulders.

"The win shows our resilience in being able to graft two really tough victories away from home, and also to have those wins sandwiched in the middle by the international break.

"I'm enjoying my football at the moment. It's been a while since Nedum Onuoha was in the first team, through injury and Michael Johnson's form, but everyone knew that he wouldn't let anyone down and he did really well keeping Damien Duff quiet.

"The spirit's good in the camp, there's a really positive feeling about and we want to keep this run going to finish as high as possible in the league."