Following the season's longest trip on Saturday, Fleetwood Town take to the road again on Tuesday with a visit to Barnet for a re-arranged fixture.
By David MitchellFollowing the season's longest trip on Saturday, Fleetwood Town take to the road again on Tuesday with a visit to Barnet for a re-arranged fixture.
The Bees, like Town's last two opponents - Accrington and Plymouth - are perilously placed. A 3-2 defeat at Accrington on Saturday left them as one of five clubs level on 40 points at the foot of the npower League 2. Teams fighting for their lives can be notoriously difficult opponents in the last few weeks of the season but for Graham Alexander's men the game represents an early chance to get the Plymouth defeat out of their system.
'We'll definitely be looking to bounce back,' said Alexander. 'There was some sloppy play in the first half on Saturday and we had numerous chances. Both sides have reason to want the win tonight and we have to match the endeavour of a side who like to play the ball from the back. There has been an upturn since Edgar Davids took over and we will be concentrating all our efforts on bringing three points back.'
One win from their last seven games has slowed Town's momentum and they now lie six points from the play-off places.
Only Dean Howell and Jamie Allen missed training on Monday:
'We had a healthy number on the training pitch and a couple are inching their way back,'added Alexander. 'Howell is definitely unavailable and we are continuing to monitor Gillespie but there will be no major squad changes for Barnet.'
Both teams were facing uphill battles by half time on Saturday. While Town were 2-0 down at Plymouth, Barnet had gone 3-1 behind at Accrington. Each lost experienced midfielders for a second bookable offence minutes before full-time. Paul McKenna (Town) and Davids will automatically miss the fixture:
'Paul's an experienced player but his absence will give a chance to someone else,' Alexander continued.'We will concentrate our efforts and our quality will hopefully come through. It's unusual to have two long trips back to back but we've done it before and shown that we can come through. We will be positive in our approach and looking to reward the supporters who will be making the long journey, many for the second time in four days.'
Barnet have shown better form at Underhill, compensating for their 13 defeats on the road. On loan MK Dons defender Tom Flanagan could make his debut after coming on at Accrington. Steve Kabba remains sidelined with a knee problem and fellow striker Ricky Holmes is out for the rest of the season with a foot injury.
Barnet had goalkeeper Graham Stack sent off in their 2-1 defeat at Highbury in September.
