Joey Barton has broken his silence following his controversial comments at the Stadium Of Light.

The Fleetwood Town manager riled plenty of Sunderland fans following the 1-1 draw on Tuesday night with the former Newcastle United midfielder taking aim at the League One promotion contenders.

Barton commented on Sunderland's supporters, saying "It’s interesting for me to see Sunderland fans celebrating in the manner they did after drawing at home to Fleetwood Town.”

He then criticised the famous 'Sunderland Til I Die' documentary and accused Phil Parkinson's side of 'drenching the pitch' to stop his side playing their passing game, while accusing the Wearsiders of playing too many long balls.

Plenty of Sunderland fans were less than impressed with Barton's comments which certainly didn't go down too well.

Barton did, however, take to social media on Wednesday to break his silence to thank the travelling Fleetwood Town supporters who made the trip to the Stadium Of Light.

Can you name every Sunderland player's shirt number this season? 

The verdict

Joey Barton was certainly on form at the Stadium Of Light.

After receiving abuse from the home fans throughout the game, he couldn't resist striking back in his press conference - much to the annoyance of the home fans.

But putting his pantomime villain status aside, Barton can be very pleased with how his side got on.

While almost playing out their gameplan to perfection, Fleetwood also played some excellent football and showed exactly why they're challenging for the play-offs this term.