Fleetwood Town host two npower League 2 fixtures in four days starting this weekend with the visit of 19th placed Plymouth Argyle.
By David MitchellFleetwood Town host two npower League 2 fixtures in four days starting this weekend with the visit of 19th placed Plymouth Argyle.
Micky Mellon’s team look to extend an unbeaten league and cup run stretching back six games. It is the first game between the clubs. Town skipper, Steve McNulty, reaches another milestone with his 150
th start in all competitions for his side. Having scored his seventh goal for Fleetwood at Exeter last weekend, the central defender will be keen to celebrate with another strike.
Argyle halted a run of four successive league and cup defeats with a much-improved performance last Saturday at home to leaders Gillingham. They were denied by a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw, a result which will generate confidence in manager Carl Fletcher’s squad after a series of disappointing matches including the FA Cup First Round defeat to non-league Dorchester.
Mellon will be well-aware of the potential significance of the Gillingham performance as Argyle travel north:
‘They have done well against the league leaders and by all accounts were a wee bit unfortunate not to win so the warning signs are there. They will come to Highbury feeling confident.’
Town have had a full week to work on their injury situation which Mellon summarises as follows:
‘Damien Johnson has got a full week under his belt so will be back in to things and Steven Gillespie trained on Friday and we will be looking carefully at his reaction. Otherwise, everyone who took part at Exeter has come through.’
John Parkin (hamstring) and Andy Mangan (knee) continue to be unavailable.
A series of drawn games, five out of the last seven in the league, does not trouble Town’s boss at this stage:
‘We want to win games, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also important that we don’t get beaten by teams who are likely to be at the top end come the end of the season. Three out of the last four games have been away from home and we have faced some tough opponents as well as Rotherham at home. We know we have to start winning but we’re in a good place and not going to get too disappointed about draws against teams likely to be in the top ten come the end of the season.’
Saturday’s brace at Exeter came courtesy of midfield and defence:
‘We ask players all over the pitch to step in to and take responsibility,’ said Mellon. ‘There are no rules to say they can’t pop up and score and they were both fantastic goals so let’s hope for more of same on Saturday.’
The Pilgrims have not kept a clean sheet since 8
th September. Dogged by inconsistency, they have experienced victory just four times this season. The two on the road have been at Morecambe and Barnet.
They have no fresh injury concerns, midfielder Paul Wotton still a month away after a back operation. Fletcher told BBC Radio Devon:
"We're looking forward to it. Fleetwood are well -publicised with the players they've brought in. Their financial situation isn't really a concern to me. We've got to make sure we prepare right for the game. We've had a good week this week and look forward to the journey up there and making sure we give a good account for ourselves and get a good result."
After spending six successive seasons in the Championship from 2004-05, fortunes took a dip as the club was affected by problems on and off the field and came close to going out of business. Two successive relegations were followed by a season in League 2 last year when they avoided relegation from the Football League by just two points. This was the lowest position in the club’s history but quite an achievement considering they had been well adrift of the rest during the first half of the campaign.
