Source: Team_Talk
Mills: Barton regrets MGP punch
Danny Mills has spoken to former Manchester City team-mate Joey Barton and claims the Newcastle man knows he has stepped out of line.[LNB] Barton has been handed a three-match ban by the Football Association after lashing out at Blackburn's Morten Gamst Pedersen during a fixture at St James' Park on Wednesday.[LNB]The Magpies midfielder reacted angrily to being brushed on the shoulder by the Rovers winger, punching him in the chest.[LNB]It is not the first time Barton has been in trouble with the authorities, and he admits he faces a constant battle to control his anger issues.[LNB]Mills, though, insists his former City team-mate is working hard to alter his ways and honestly believes that he regrets his latest act of petulance.[LNB]"I spoke to Joey yesterday (Thursday) and he regrets what he did," Mills told Sky Sports News Radio.[LNB]"From his point of view it was a stupid reaction. There had been a bit of a couple of off the ball things with Pedersen earlier in the game and he just shoulder-barged him, not particularly hard, and Joey reacted. [LNB]"Joey knows he reacted badly and shouldn't have done it and it's a shame because Joey's form, last season and at the start of this season, has been fantastic. [LNB]"He has been integral to what Newcastle are doing, and their position in the league, and I think we have to be careful. He has made a mistake, but it wasn't the worst punch in the world. [LNB]"Morten Gamst Pedersen went down slightly too easy, I think he could have taken a standing count of eight quite easily but he crumpled to the floor like it was a knock-out punch. It wasn't a swinging haymaker. [LNB]"You can't justify what Joey did, but I think we have to get it in perspective. Had it been any other player, it would have been a three-game ban and we'd have forgotten about it. [LNB]"The fact that it's Joey and his history, and he does have this constant battle, he's been in prison, he's had a lot to deal with. I think Joey realises that he made a mistake, he will put this out of his mind and it will now be all about how he reacts when he comes back."
