Unbeaten in their past seven games, Bristol Rovers are confident for the midweek League One clash with Sheffield Wednesday. But a trip to Hillsborough in front of the Sky Sports cameras prompts mixed emotions for a squad and coaching staff with strong ties to the city of Liverpool.
Several players and coaches at Rovers, Barton included, hail from Merseyside and for Liverpudlians of all footballing persuasions, the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 – when 96 Liverpool fans died in a crush at an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, with the death toll rising to 97 in 2021 when Andrew Devine died as a result of his injuries – remains a source of deep sadness and anger.
So while it is a chance for Rovers to showcase their growing form and confidence in front of a national TV audience against one of League One's top sides, Barton is not relishing the trip to Hillsborough.
"I can’t bear the stadium because of Liverpool in 1989," Barton said. "It gives a really bad feeling when I go in it because you can’t help but be affected by it.
"Sheffield is a fantastic football city and I love Sheffield Wednesday as a club, they are massive underachievers in terms of they were a huge club when I was a kid and I can remember them being in FA Cup finals and always being in the Premier League. It’s a great city with two really good football clubs.
"We’ll go to the memorial and put some flowers down and pay our respects. Hopefully, we can turn in a big performance, but it’s one of the few stadiums that I would rather not visit.
"When you walk down the Leppings Lane End, it’s just eerie because it’s the scene of a crime."
While it will be a poignant trip for Barton and his players, they will be laser-focused on extending their unbeaten run when the whistle blows.
Darren Moore's Owls are third in League One and they are strong contenders for an automatic promotion berth when the campaign is done and dusted, although they were held to a 1-1 draw by Lincoln City on Saturday.
Barton is full of confidence in his players, who he insists will play with an absence of fear after going toe-to-toe with League One leaders Plymouth Argyle at the weekend.
"I think they went to a back three on Saturday and they’ve got some really talented boys," he said. "Josh Windass played with me and Jordan Rossiter and Rangers and is a really talented kid, Michael Smith who they took from Rotherham and Lee Gregory, and the quality Barry Bannan and Will Vaulks in midfield produce.
"They are a top side, but Hillsborough will be full and they will be expected to beat us, a newly-promoted team, and we’ll go there with a spring in our step because of the second half against Plymouth, but also with no fear. We are going there to attack them and we’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose."
The Owls have averaged crowds in excess of 22,000 at Hillsborough this season and Barton believes the Gas need to cope with the noise if they are to continue their unbeaten run.
"I’ll have a watch of them," Barton said. "I think they played a back three on Saturday and not won so they may revert back to the back fours they’ve been doing.
"We’ll go with a plan and it probably won’t be the same plan as Saturday because we were 2-0 down at half time, but we think we’ve got enough in our group to pose problems and the key for me will be handling the occasion and the atmosphere.
"If they get their tail up at Hillsborough and the crowd get with them, that might cause us problems, but if we can take the crowd away from them and create some angst in the stadium, then sometimes a big crowd, as we know from here last year, can work against you."
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