Training at Fleetwood Town is currently in the experienced hands of assistant manager, Craig Madden, and first team coach, Steve Macauley.
By David MitchellTraining at Fleetwood Town is currently in the experienced hands of assistant manager, Craig Madden, and first team coach, Steve Macauley.
Putting the squad through their paces - ahead of the Southend visit - is a role that Madden, the former Bury and Blackpool striker, has performed countless times since joining the club in June 2010:
‘The lads are still getting over the weekend’s developments but they have to be professional. They know Steve and I well so to that extent nothing’s changed. Tuesday we split the group up and combined a bit of fun with some serious work in the gym and on the artificial surface at Fylde Rugby Club.’
‘It’s out of my hands so we just have to get on with the preparation for Saturday. The crazy thing is that if we win against Southend and other results go our way we are just outside the automatic places, lose and it can look quite different again. It’s a very tight league and we need a performance and a win on Saturday.’
It’s a situation that Madden has been in before, having been caretaker at Stockport County for a short period after the departure of Andy Kilner in 2001:
‘It’s not nice but it’s a case of trying to maintain things and keeping the players’ morale up. Steve and I met the Chairman on Monday and we’ve been told we’ll be kept informed. Hopefully, it will be a quick appointment and then the players can get back to doing what they do well. Some who are not playing at the moment will see it as an opportunity to show their worth and are given a fresh impetus. When a new person starts, Steve and I will no doubt be asked our opinions on players but every player really starts from scratch.
Although Madden is concentrating very much on the present, he has been involved with some of the very best of times at Highbury:
‘It’s been a fantastic roller-coaster ride. We lost in the play-offs in my first year having been found wanting against Wimbledon and I remember the hurt. The players were told to remember the feeling because next season they were going to win the league...and they did. We had good runs in the promotion season and were hard to beat. We were also good at counter-attacking, particularly away from home. Over 80 goals came from the front five. Vardy got the plaudits quite rightly but there were others around him who played their part as well.’