Joey Barton issues verdict on Jadon Sancho’s funny German accent as new Bristol Rovers boss highlights differences from Fleetwood job

Joey Barton has promised to ‘nail down’ the Bristolian accent as the new Bristol Rovers boss also gave his verdict on Jadon Sancho’s cheeky German pronunciation.

Barton spoke exclusively to talkSPORT after being unveiled as the League One strugglers’ new boss on Monday. And, as usual, Barton was in good form.

England international Sancho impressed during Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 win over Schalke at the weekend, but it was his post-match interview which grabbed all the headlines as he explained his passionate celebration.

Just like Steve McClaren at FC Twente and Barton before him upon signing for Marseille, Sancho could be heard injecting a foreign twist into his usual London accent to create a somewhat Anglo-Saxon hybrid which sounded hilarious.

So what did Barton make of that?

“You’ll find yourself doing it on holiday – we’ve all done it. I laughed when I saw it, as when you’re abroad and you see it you just can’t help it,” the former Manchester City and QPR midfielder said.

“As stupid as my video is and as stupid as I sound, you just have to laugh.

“When I saw Jadon do it you’ve just got to laugh. No-one’s made a bigger fool of it than me on my one, and certainly Steve McClaren.

“It’s great when someone else does it as it brings the other ones out of the woodwork.”

So, on that note, will Barton be adopting the Bristolian accent sooner rather than later?

“As you know it’s one of the things I like to do when I move into a new club or a new city.
“I like to immerse myself into the local cultures,” he told talkSPORT.

“At some point I will no doubt develop the accent and hopefully it gets me the same amount of traction as my French one did.

“It’ll take a bit to get it – because it’s got that little bit of a dwang – but I’ll practising to make sure I get it nailed down.”

On the difference between the job at Fleetwood in comparison to the task ahead at Rovers, Barton added: “At Fleetwood Town we had no pressure as we were the small clubs in amongst the big clubs.

“The lads thrived in that David vs Goliath situation to be fair to then.

“When you come to Rovers it’s a different situation. It’s a big club for the division and in the wrong part of the table.

“It’s an enormous challenge, and we’ve got some very tough games ahead of us

”We can’t lose sight of the next challenge ahead of us which is Wigan at home, so we’ll ready and raring to deliver a performance to take maximum points.”