Bristol Rovers boss Barton 'feels' for Cobblers and hopes they go up in the play-offs

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton says he hopes Northampton win promotion through the play-offs after his side pipped them to third place on a remarkable final day of the League Two season.

Rovers scored five goals in the space of 30 second-half minutes to beat Scunthorpe United 7-0 and achieve the goal swing they needed to snatch automatic promotion and leave Cobblers stunned.

Barton has never been especially popular among Cobblers fans and he did himself no favours when branding them a ‘rugby team’ following Rovers’ 1-0 victory at Sixfields in March.

But he wished Jon Brady’s team well following Saturday’s drama.

"I feel for Northampton, I do," Barton told the Bristol Post. "They’ve gone and won 3-1 away from home, they’re five goals clear. Colin Calderwood is a great guy as I’ve said. I know I’ve rubbed Jon Brady up the wrong way but he has done a fantastic job this year as well.

"They’ve sat in the top of three for a lot of the season. We’ve come and done them on the line. It’s still yet to sink in but they’ve had a fantastic season as well and I hope they go up in the play-offs."

Rovers had not spent a day in the top three until the final 10 minutes of the season.

"It’s tough to put into words but you’ve covered us all year and you’ve been part of this journey as well with the highs and lows," he added. "There have been some tough moments, but one thing that can’t ever be questioned is the character of our team and our players.

"As a direct consequence of that, the fans have turned up and supported them because they knew they give everything for the quarters. You get special days at football clubs if you get that kind of recipe.

"I didn’t expect us to win 7-0, I didn’t think anybody did. I was hoping for a Barrow draw, but were we going to do it any other way? Does this group do it easy?"