Holloway dismisses Barton rumours

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has rejected rumours that the club are poised to make a move for QPR midfielder Joey Barton.

Barton will begin a 12-match ban this weekend following his sending off and subsequent actions on the final day of last season against Manchester City. A summer stint training with Football League newcomers Fleetwood finished at the weekend after QPR rejected the idea of Barton spending time on loan in League Two. Several reports have suggested Blackpool were preparing a move for Barton, but Holloway insists such talk is wide of the mark. "I haven't got a clue where the Joey Barton rumours came from," Holloway told the Blackpool Gazette. "I can't sign someone who I couldn't pick for 12 matches, if you look at the central midfield players I have, that's not the area I need players. I need strikers. Joey's a great lad but I don't know where that talk came from."