Joey Barton claims Irish defender Jimmy Dunne ‘crossed a line’

Jimmy Dunne was included in the Republic of Ireland senior squad by Martin O’Neill in November 2018.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

FLEETWOOD TOWN MANAGER Joey Barton has revealed that a breach of discipline brought a premature end to Jimmy Dunne’s loan spell with the club.

It was announced last week that Dunne — who joined the League One outfit in August on a deal that was due to last until the end of the season — has returned to parent club Burnley.

While Barton seemed satisfied with the performances of the 22-year-old centre-back in his 11 appearances for Fleetwood, he expressed his unhappiness over an undisclosed issue.

“It’s another thing that will stay in the confines of the football club, another discipline breach in our opinion,” he said, as reported by the Blackpool Gazette. “Something that is non-negotiable for us. A lesson that needs to be learned for a young player.

“Jim did great, had a couple of good performances and scored a couple of good goals, but some things are just non-negotiable and he crossed a line for us.

“Unfortunately for us we decided we didn’t want to renew his loan and that we are going to go in a different direction. We’ve just decided to change direction, there was a line crossed; for our dressing room it was impossible for it to continue.

“I always speak to my dressing room because they are the football club. The players are the ones who go out and they’re in the trenches. They have to be sure that everyone is facing the same direction and they’re not going to get a sideswipe. We have to clear that up, that has been dealt with and we move forward.

“That has left us with a deficit of players. You would have to say we’re not as strong as where we started the season, we are aware of that.”

Dunne, who joined Burnley from Manchester United in 2016, has yet to make a first-team debut for the Premier League club. He has also previously been on loan at Sunderland, Hearts, Accrington Stanley and Barrow.

A former Republic of Ireland U21 international, the Louth native received a senior call-up during the latter stages of Martin O’Neill’s reign as manager.