Fleetwood boss Joey Barton's claim on how much Portsmouth's outlay was for John Marquis and Ellis Harrison from Doncaster and Ipswich

The Blues brought in John Marquis and Ellis Harrison from Doncaster and Ipswich respectively to bolster their front line.

It’s understood Pompey paid more than £1m for the former, while the fee paid for Harrison was around £450,000.

Kenny Jackett’s men travel to the Cod Army today in the third round of the FA Cup (5.31pm kick-off).

Barton was at pains to heap praise on Pompey and believes their spot of ninth in League One is a ‘false league position.’

But the ex-Manchester City midfielder feels the Blues are a ‘massive side’ compared to Fleetwood because of their financial muscle.

He told fleetwoodtoday.co.uk: ‘They are a massive team. They’ve won the FA Cup in the last 20 years.

‘Anyone who wins the FA Cup are a big team. They’ve had some wonderful players over the years, I’ve played there myself many times.

‘Portsmouth are a huge football club, make no bones about it. They’re a very good side. You’ve seen the financial outlay they’ve had this year.

‘North of £3m for John Marquis, north of £1m for Ellis Harrison, and that’s to name but a few. Compared to us they’re a massive side.

‘If you can’t get a Premier League team, you want a home draw. We would have liked an easier home draw, that’s for sure.

‘I think Pompey are in a false league position, they’re a very good side. Kenny (Jackett), I know very well, he was reserve team manager when I was at (Manchester) City. He’s someone I have a huge admiration and great respect for.

‘They’re a side that beat us twice last year. We think we’re a better side than we were last year and we’re going to have to be a lot better than we were against Sunderland in order to progress.’