Graham Alexander speaks ahead of this weekend's game against Portsmouth
Graham Alexander says his Fleetwood Town players are going to do whatever it takes to win the game as they prepare to welcome Portsmouth to Highbury Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Fleetwood are unbeaten in their last four games going into their clash with Pompey and their recent run of form has closed the gap to just three points between themselves and the Sky Bet League 2 automatic promotion places.
Portsmouth, who were tipped as heavy promotion favourites at the start of the season, remain in the bottom half of the table, but go into the game on the Fylde Coast on the back of three goalless draws.
Fleetwood came away from the South Coast with a 1-0 win back in September and Alexander, recalling on that game, has called on his players to produce a repeat performance, but also had a message for the Cod Army faithful.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Alexander said: “Portsmouth are a good team, they have some good players and have got an experienced manager.
“When we went down there, I thought we handled ourselves really well in front of a 16,000 crowd and I thought the players played fantastically well.
“We were composed, did the right things at the right time and we came away with a great three points.
“That’s what we have to try and do again Saturday and make sure we just play the game.
“The lads are looking forward to the game, they’re determined to do whatever it takes to win the game and it’s going to take everything that we have got.
“I think whenever a team’s brought a big following to Highbury, our supporters have really responded to the challenge of getting behind the team even more.
“It’s always helped us in the games that we have had and that’s what we are looking for on Saturday.
“We obviously have to respond in kind and make sure we give the supporters something to cheer about as well.
“It’s a two way street, we have to give them the performance they deserve, and that in turn, they will give us their 100% support, which we think is vital to us especially coming at this stage in the season.”
After three consecutive away games, in which Fleetwood have taken five points, Alexander believes the improvements in his side’s play have been clear for all to see
Town’s manager, though, insists that his players are ‘determined’ to continue to improve to give them the best possible chance of achieving promotion at the end of the season.
“It’s give us a little bit of a base, a couple of weeks ago, when we was in a dark hole and we had dig ourselves out of it.
“No-one was going to help us get out of it, we had to get out ourselves and we have managed to do that, but there’s still a long way to go to get the performances that we want.
“As a group, the players are determined to improve game in, game out and make sure we give ourselves the best chance of winning games.
“We’re at that business end of the season where we have to win as many games as possible to give us the best chance of being in the top three, which is the target for all of us.”
Get behind the lads this weekend and get to Highbury!
Remember It is cheaper to buy tickets in advance. Fans can buy in the club shop, by calling 01253 775080 or by visiting www.highburystore.com