Joey Barton labels Leicester City's development side 'suspect' and 'lucky' as Fleetwood collapse in Checkatrade Trophy

JOEY BARTON labelled Leicester City's development team "suspect" and "lucky" after the Foxes youngsters came from 2-0 down to beat Fleetwood in the Checkatrade Trophy.

Barton claimed his League One side outplayed the Leicester – and said players bragged about their earnings.

His side led 2-0 thanks to goals from Chris Long and Conor McAleny before Cian Bolger was sent-off for the hosts.

It gave  Leicester Under-21s a lifeline and Ryan Loft capitalised, pulling one back with ten minutes to go and equalising in the 95th minute.

And it was Steve Beaglehole's side that held their nerve in the shoot-out to win 7-6, with Loft netting the winner, and earn an extra point after the draw.

Barton, 36, told the Blackpool Gazette: “Our lads are disappointed because we absolutely battered them. I thought to a man they were excellent.

“They’ve had a £20m signing on the pitch and a Premier League winner in Danny Simpson.

“But anyone who was here would have seen the difference in class. I’d be very surprised if any of their boys end up playing for the senior team, whereas we’ve got lots of young lads playing for ours.

“The conduct of some of them is a bit suspect, talking to our players about how much they’re earning and stuff like that.

"It lacks a bit of class. In that respect, I think this is a worthwhile experience for them because they’ve just been outplayed by a team two divisions below.

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