QPR team-mates back Joey Barton as the fans turn against him

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.4/7101?ns=guardian&pageName=QPR+team-mates+back+Joey+Barton+as+the+fans+turn+against+him%3AArticle%3A1721711&ch=Football&c3=Guardian&c4=Joey+Barton%2CQPR+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Premier+League&c6=Paul+Doyle&c7=12-Mar-22&c8=1721711&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&c42=Sport&h2=GU%2FSport%2FFootball%2FJoey+Barton" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">• Midfielder admits he played badly against Liverpool<br />• Mark Hughes backs him despite loss of form</p><p>The Queens Park Rangers forward Jamie Mackie has backed Joey Barton to overcome the ridicule heaped on him by the club's supporters during Wednesday's 3-2 victory over Liverpool.</p><p>Although that match ended in euphoria for the home crowd, their mood was very different in the 62nd minute, when the hosts were trailing 1-0 and Barton was substituted by Mackie. Barton was booed off the pitch by large sections of the Loftus Road faithful, who were evidently dissatisfied with the captain's error-strewn performance.</p><p>"You don't like to see that but Joey's an immensely strong character so I don't think we need to worry about it," said Mackie. "He's our captain, our leader. He never hides, whether he's having a good or a bad game. He's probably got a bigger part to play than anyone [in QPR's fight against relegation]. He wants us to win games whether he is banging the goals in or not and we are lucky to have him."</p><p>Barton later took to Twitter to confess that his display had been "awful" and "the worst of my career" but criticised the home fans for turning on him. It is worth wondering whether his prolific use of Twitter intensifies the scorn directed at him when he plays badly, as his willingness to expound his views on a whole array of subjects seems to encourage others to voice their views of him.</p><p>It is also likely that supporters feel justified in demanding more from him because he has described himself as one of England's best midfielders and because, if the brags that the Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Karl Henry claims Barton made during QPR's win over Wolves in September are accurate, he is one of the highest-paid players at the club, earning £80,000-per-week.</p><p>Yet another motive for the booing could have been to convey a message to the club's manager, Mark Hughes, who has consistently picked Barton despite a series of inconsequential performances. The player hinted on Twitter that his form has been compromised by having to occasionally play on the right-hand side of midfield rather than in the centre but that position is scarcely alien enough to convince fans that it qualifies as a reasonable excuse for mislaying as many passes as he did against Liverpool.</p><p>Nor was it only against Liverpool that he has struggled. Barton's form has been poor ever since he got sent off in January's 2-1 defeat by Norwich City, yet he has continually been chosen ahead of the likes of Mackie, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Akos Buzsaky. A significant number of Rangers fans seem to think Hughes should alter this selection policy.</p><p>But the manager, like Mackie, suggested he retains his confidence in Barton, stressing that the player has "a big part to play" in the season's run-in. Barton, unsurprisingly, agreed: "form is temporary, class is permanent," he tweeted pointedly.</p><p>While Barton was aggrieved by the derision directed at him, it did not detract from his delight at Wednesday's result. Mackie said the captain was "the happiest player in the dressing room" after the victory over Liverpool. The comeback has reinforced the players' conviction that they can remain afloat in the Premier League this season despite their daunting fixture list. Currently two points clear of the relegation zone but having played a game more than 18th-placed Bolton Wanderers, QPR must take on all of the top five teams in the league in their remaining nine matches.</p><p>"With the talent we've got in the dressing room, it doesn't matter who we're playing," said Mackie. "We just needed that little bit of belief, that little bit of confidence. It doesn't matter how good you are as a player, confidence goes a massive way. To come back from 2-0 down against a team packed with quality like Liverpool, it's got to give everyone belief in what we're trying to do. We've got a great chance of picking up results now."</p><p>"We're under no illusions. We're right in the mixer and we could get relegated. We've put ourselves in that position and were the only people who can get ourselves out of it. We can't feel sorry for ourselves.</p><p>"If we'd lost against Liverpool the doom-mongers would have been out saying we're down already. We've got nine games left, a very, very tough run-in. But every single game we're going to rack up points and definitely give it a good shot."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/joey-barton">Joey Barton</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/qpr">QPR</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/pauldoyle">Paul Doyle</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
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