Cod Army travel to South Yorkshire this weekend
Graham Alexander wants his Fleetwood Town side to rise to the occasion when they travel to Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon.The Cod Army will be looking for three points in South Yorkshire having lost at Chesterfield and drawn at home to Scunthorpe United this week.
Nigel Clough’s Blades side will be hoping to put the disappointment of their midweek defeat to Peterborough behind them against Town.
The sides played out an entertaining 1-1 draw when they last met at Highbury in December, with Antoni Sarcevic netting a second half equaliser.
Ahead of the game, Alexander said: “It’s fantastic for our Club to be playing opponents like this at the same level, and it’s something we worked so hard for last season.
“We don’t want it to let it pass us by. We want to go there and compete and show everyone what we’re about as a Club and as a team.
“Sheffield United would be a massive club in the Championship so at this level they’re size is even bigger.
“They’ve got a lot of good players and a very experienced manager. They’ve had a good cup run this season and they’re up where they expect to be in the league.
“We know of their qualities and what they’ve got. We had a tough game against them at Highbury and it was a very good game of football.
“We want to play at the best level we can when we go there and to compete as well. If we do that, hopefully we’ll come away with a positive result.
“This is one of games we would have looked at at the start of the season when the fixtures came out, and got excited about.
“We’ve got to make sure we’ve still got that excitement in us come Saturday, and play with a lot of focus as well as freedom to go there and enjoy the game.
“We need to be positive about it and that’s what we’re going to send our team out to do. The lads will do their best to get a result.”
The manager wants his squad to continue to push each other, and admits his side will give it their all at Bramall Lane.
“There’s been two games already this week so we need to keep the energy levels high and competition for places healthy.
“We’ve got that in the majority of positions this season, and I always think it keeps people on their toes and keeps them working hard.
“The lads are all pushing each other to become better players. We have a great group here who all enjoy working together.
“Whichever team we put out on Saturday will give their best, and the substitutes and the squad members will support that group.”