Skipper determined to build on positive result against Northampton
Mark Roberts hopes Fleetwood’s 2-0 victory over Northampton Town at the weekend will spark another winning run as they prepare to overturn a two-goal deficit against Chesterfield on Tuesday evening.
After losing their first-leg encounter 3-1 to the Spireites earlier this month at Highbury Stadium, Fleetwood need to repeat the weekend’s score line against Northampton at the very least as they look to secure their Wembley berth in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final.
Speaking to the club’s official website in the build up to the game, the Fleetwood captain said: “It’s always important to get your next victory on the board.
“We’re a confident group and we know the ability and the talent that’s within the group and we always back ourselves whatever game we go into.
“We had been four games without a win before and started 2014 in a positive manner and it was important to get back to winning ways.
“We got a clean sheet, a solid win at home, and hopefully we can kick on from there.”
Looking back at the start of the season, the 30-year-old defender insists that Fleetwood believed the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy was a competition they could win from the start.
Roberts also believes that their route to the final – in which Town have beaten three Sky Bet League 1 teams – has shown what Fleetwood are truly capable of and has called on the rest of the squad to produce a performance of similar ilk over the next 90 minutes to reach the Wembley finale.
“We looked at the tournament and thought it was one we could definitely win. There is a Wembley final at stake; we’re 90 minutes away from Wembley.
“We have had to beat some big teams, some teams from the league above, so it has been important for us.
“You want to win every game you play, whether it’s in the league or to progress to the next round of the cups and we really want to get to that Wembley final.
“I think it has given everyone confidence, it shows what we are capable of.
“Over the course of this season we have been striving for that consistency and sometimes we might not have reached that without some of the performances we have shown in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
“Games like Crewe, Tranmere and Rotherham are good examples and they show what we are capable of, but it’s important now, for the remainder of the season, that we produce similar performances week in week out in the league.
“We will go there (Chesterfield) on the front foot and we know what we need to do.
“Going into the first-leg, nobody is in danger no matter what the outcome is and it could have easily been us going into this game with a 3-1 lead.
“We had two goals disallowed and they have scored with their first three shots they have had on target.
“Credit to Chesterfield, though, they are an excellent team and they put in a really good performance on the night and they will be looking for their own double and their own Wembley final.