Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton hits back at Steve Evans after claims Cobblers should have been promoted last season

Joey Barton has sent a not-so-subtle message back to Steve Evans after the Stevenage boss claimed that Northampton should have won promotion – not Bristol Rovers – on the final day of last season.

In the build-up to Saturday’s 3-2 thriller between first and third at the Lamex Stadium, Evans claimed Scunthorpe’s decision to field a very young team on the final day of the season ‘had no place in football’ and added that the Cobblers ‘should be in League One’, not Rovers. The Gas thrashed Scunthorpe 7-0 to win promotion by just a single goal.

Barton, who admitted he didn’t read Evans’ comments in full, has now responded, telling the Bristol Post: “It’s a helluva lot different looking at the fixture list and seeing a trip to Pride Park and a trip Hillsborough, rather than Crawley and Stevenage and big Steve Evans charging up and down the touchline.

“He’s commented this week, hasn’t he? It must’ve been in between screaming at officials. He’s commented that we were lucky or something like that.

“I haven’t read it, I’ve just heard about it. I don’t know why, it’s bizarre. He won’t want to help Jon (Brady). Jon doesn’t like me anyway and I don’t think he will send me a Christmas card.

“Steve is entitled to his opinion. There’s nothing wrong with what he said. We’re up now, so tough s*** on that one.”