Fleetwood Town manager Scott Brown admits he has nothing but the utmost respect for Joey Barton and the job he has done at Bristol Rovers with the former Old Firm adversaries set to be reunited later this month.
Brown will bring his Fleetwood side to the Mem on Saturday, November 12 in a fixture of considerable personal significance for Barton given the Lancashire team were the first to give him a route into management and the identity of the man in the opposition dugout.
Brown was a combative midfielder who was a constant in the great Celtic sides of the 2010s, and he and Barton went toe-to-toe in a Glasgow derby during the Rovers boss’ brief but eventful time with Rangers.
Barbs were exchanged and Brown ultimately had the last laugh after a 5-1 win, which also featured now Rovers forward Scott Sinclair in the Hoops line up and on the scoresheet.
Six years on, the stage has transferred to League One with Brown mimicking Barton’s path, having taken over at Highbury Stadium in the summer and the Scot insists it’ll be a very different dynamic to when the two were players.
“You play those mind games and can do whatever you want as players. But, as manager, it’s completely different now,” Brown told the Daily Record. “You’ve got to have respect for your opponents and respect for your fellow managers. Joey has done a great job. He was a fantastic manager here at Fleetwood as well. He’s doing it now at Bristol Rovers.
“There won’t be any pre-match wind-ups whatsoever – from me anyway. We’ll be fine.
"It’s about our teams doing the talking on the park. It’s a huge game – going away to Bristol will be tough, they’ve had some good recent results. We’ll look forward to that one but it’s not all about me, it’s about my players and I’ve got to help them be at their best.”
Under Brown’s management, Fleetwood lie 15th in League One, level on points with Rovers, although that could well have changed by next Saturday as the Cod Army take on Oxford United tonight as their game in hand.
By Brown’s own admission, the frenetic schedule has been a challenge in itself while, with relevance to the trip to the West Country, he referenced a long journey to Exeter City, where they lost 2-1, as evidence of the need for points beyond just boosting their league standings.
“I always had that drive and thought that one day I wanted to become a manager,” Brown added. “It’s been a rollercoaster so far. It’s relentless. Lots of games means lots of travelling to take into consideration.
“Going to Exeter was an eight-hour drive on the bus, we got stuck in traffic and it was six hours back. You want to pick up points on those trips, otherwise it can be a bit grim coming back.”
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