Departures leave Barton facing selection headache

Posted Thursday, January 02, 2020 by PA

Fleetwood manager Joey Barton could turn to the club’s younger players after seeing his squad depleted by a number of departures ahead of the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth.

Veteran defender Peter Clarke has left for Tranmere, while defender Jimmy Dunne has been recalled by Burnley, having made 11 appearances for the club but not started a game since the start of November.

Forward Ash Hunter has gone out on loan to Salford, while Jordan Rossiter has a long-term knee injury, leaving vacancies in Barton’s squad.

Barton himself will be back on the touchline after serving a one-match ban for the New Year’s Day draw against Sunderland.

Portsmouth manager Kenny Jackett still has a number of injury concerns.

Ryan Williams (groin), Ross McCrorie (hamstring), Lee Brown (Achilles) and Brandon Haunstrup (knee) were all missing for the 1-1 draw at Gillingham and are expected to miss out again.

Jackett made the surprise decision to drop goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray for that match, replacing him with Alex Bass, but denied it was related to reports linking MacGillivray with Rangers.

Haunstrup, who is closing in on a return, has also been linked with a move away in the January window.