1 Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton

Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton says his career was saved by the Loftus Road fans on the first day of the season.

His short career in west London looked doomed after he was sent off on the final day of the 2011/12 season after lashing out at a number of Manchester City players.

A 12-match ban and a loan deal to Marseille followed but the former Manchester City man was reintegrated back into the R’s team on the first day of this season and is now helping Harry Redknapp’s team fulfil their dream of returning to the Premier League.

“I knew I was in the squad but it wasn’t until the morning of the game that I was told I was starting,” Barton told The INSIDE’R’, QPR’s official magazine.

“I remember thinking, ‘I’m not sure I’m going to be able to get through this.’

“The other thought to go through his head was, ‘What will the fans make of it?’

“It crossed my mind about what sort of reaction I would get when my name was read out, of course!

“What a savvy decision that was from Harry, what a clever move. He was basically gauging fans’ opinions. In my mind he was backing me, so he had me on board. But he was also able to gauge the fans’ opinions about whether they were prepared to let this happen.

“When I think back, it was an incredibly savvy manoeuvre from him, which is what you’d expect from a top manager.

“I remember warming up and hearing my name read out. I was waiting for the boos, and they didn’t come. I thought, ‘What’s going on here?’

“That was the starting point for me. If I’d have been booed, I think I would have probably gone to the gaffer and said: ‘This is not going to work out. This isn’t what you need, it isn’t what the club needs right now and it certainly isn’t what I need’. I may well have found a way of making the Marseille deal come together.

“But because I was embraced I thought it might work out. So in my thinking was, ‘If Marseille happens, it happens. But if it doesn’t, I’m quite prepared to be a part of this’.

“Harry knew I was ready. And don’t forget I had a completely different frame of mind to what I had when I had left the club. I was confident again.”

The INSIDE’R’ is Queens Park Rangers’ official digital magazine, CLICK HERE to download the latest issue.