Pearce will let Barton face the fans' fury

Joey Barton made a sensible decision as he drove into Manchester City's Carrington training ground at 9.35am yesterday morning. No, really. The 23-year-old isolated himself from the vitriol that has greeted arguably the most selfish act of the Premiership season by wearing Ipod earpieces and listening to the car stereo at the same time, although the confused wall of sound offered no protection for a confrontation that followed shortly afterwards with Stuart Pearce.

If the midfielder was unaware of the reaction to his decision on Monday night to reject a £28,000-a-week contract offer from City and submit an instant transfer request, then he will have had an indication of the anger that has been expressed by supporters from the face of his manager. Pearce was waiting for Barton when the player he saved from the sack last summer reported for duty, and it was fortunate for him that the manager's press conference for tonight's game against Newcastle took place before he arrived.

Earlier, the City manager had expressed dismay at the midfielder's actions and, in keeping with the club's response to decline both the request and an undisclosed offer from Middlesbrough, vowed to continue efforts to encourage Barton to sign a new deal before the end of this season or, should he resist, keep the Liverpudlian at the club for the remainder of his existing contract. "Joey came for nothing and can go for nothing at the end of his contract. If I decided it was the best for Manchester City, I'd make him see out his contract," insisted Pearce. Yet while he toed a diplomatic line and could dwell on the future as he unveiled new £6m Greek striker Giorgios Samaras, Pearce could not disguise the sense of betrayal he feels over Barton's ungracious stance.

The former England defender has been instrumental in the midfielder's rehabilitation this season, both on and off a football field and the player has responded with his most mature season to date. It was at Pearce's instigation that City opened contract talks last week but having been repaid with a kick in the teeth the manager's indulgence is now at an end. "The best for Manchester City," is a phrase Pearce used regularly yesterday, and had an offer in excess of £4m arrived before last night's transfer deadline Barton would have been sold. Unless there is a U-turn before the end of the season, and neither side is currently prepared to concede ground, then Pearce will lose his finest young talent for a second successive summer.

The City manager, who was thwarted in his attempts to bring Shaun Wright-Phillips back to the club on loan from a reluctant Chelsea, admitted: "I'm from a family background which demands that if you show me loyalty, I'll show you loyalty. That's why I stayed at Nottingham Forest for 12 years. I'm disappointed, but I'm more disappointed for the fans and for the board who stood by Joey prior to me becoming manager. I think he's backed himself into a bit of a corner here in respect to what he's said. For me, we are in the middle of contract negotiations with him and I'm still hopeful he'll extend his stay here and remain part of what we are trying to achieve. We'll do everything we can to keep him here."

Barton recently left the SFX stable to join the Monaco-based agent Willie McKay, but Pearce insisted it was too simplistic to blame the controversy on bad advice. "Joey's his own man and knows his own mind. This scenario would probably have happened without the agent," he said; "It's easy to blame the agent, but players know their own minds. He is the one I've had the conversations with."

The player is understood to want parity with the club's highest earner, David James, in his new contract and has also questioned whether Manchester City is the best place to advance his England claims for this summer's World Cup. Despite the controversy, Pearce intends to select Barton against Newcastle tonight when he will want his Ipod more than ever. "He will just have to cope with any backlash," said the manager, "I'm sure Joey and his advisor will have thought of that before he made his statement. Maybe they felt it might have alerted some of the top clubs in Europe to come in and get him."