Joey Barton pre match
It’s going to be a tough game on Saturday, very different to Tuesday night and they [Tranmere] picked up a great result away at Shrewsbury during the week. That will give them a lot of confidence going into the game and Micky Mellon will be looking to get one over his former club, mainly because they need the points more than us.
“This is as tough as we’ve had. I’ll be honest and say I was that worried about Sunderland as I think those types of games are relatively easy to get yourself up for because you know you’re going to play in a great stadium and in these games, this is where you have to be careful.
“I will always remember in the good sides I was part of who were chasing promotion, the games you are expected to win, they are the ones that prove the most difficult because they are fighting for their lives. If we aren’t better than what we were on Tuesday night, it will be difficult.
“The pitch is what it is and I believe if you are a good player, the worse the pitch it is the better it should suit you. If you have a good first touch, the pitch is a leveler for people who don’t have a good touch. Good teams can win on anything and If it’s a scrap, we need to go and win it.”