Cod Army face Dean Saunders' Crawley Town this weekend
Graham Alexander is hoping his side can put last week’s home disappointment behind them when they welcome Crawley Town to Highbury on Saturday.The Cod Army fell to only their third home defeat of the season last weekend as goals from Carl Winchester and Mike Jones earned the Latics all three points.
Saturday’s opponents, now managed by Dean Saunders, have found life tough as of late and are without a league win since the 21st October.
The West Sussex outfit narrowly beat Fleetwood at the Broadfield Stadium back in September, with Izale McLeod’s late goal proving the difference.
Ahead of the game, Alexander said: “We’re all aiming to get back to winning ways as we were all disappointed with last week’s result.
“We wanted to build on some very good performances recently and keep pushing forward, but last week was a setback and that’s all it has to be.
“We’re now looking to go forward once again and that’s what we’ve been working and talking about this week.
“We did some good work on the training pitch at Poolfoot on Thursday, and hopefully we’ll go into the game in a refreshed frame of mind.”
David Ball and Nathan Pond both made returns from injury last weekend, and the manager was delighted to see them back in action.
“Bringing Liam in and having Bally and Pondy back has boosted and strengthened the squad, and they’ve all trained with us again this week.
“They’re looking in good shape, but we have to pick the best team available on Saturday to make sure we give Crawley a tough game.”
Alexander also stated that the Cod Army have a big part to play at home games, and he hopes to see them out in force on Saturday.
“We saw the numbers Oldham brought last week and they really got behind their team, and it’s just a shame we couldn’t give our fans the result we craved.
“It’s another one where we’re at home and want them to get behind us. We need them to get behind us because we’re coming up against a lot of big clubs this season.
“When teams come to Highbury we need to show a Club that is unified behind its team, and they have been for a long time now, so it has continue.”