Ashley Eastham says he is confident the players will thrive off the atmosphere inside Highbury on Saturday as Fleetwood Town host local rivals Blackpool.
Town defender Eastham was on the books at Pool for four years, and has since become a valuable member of the Cod Army back line.
Ahead of first Fylde Coast derby, Eastham has spoken at his eagerness to impress in front of a packed-out Highbury.
“I’m buzzing to get going,” said Eastham.
“It’s a big game for both clubs, the players and the management staff. Everyone can’t wait for it and I’m sure the fans can’t as well.
“The home and away fans will be having a bit of banter between each other but we need to switch off from that. It’s a big game for us and one that we’re desperate to get three points from.
“It’s a small town so it’s nice when we get the opportunity to fill the stadium.
“We got to experience it a few times last season when we were on the run to get to the play-offs and we can thrive off that. We want to play in front of bigger crowds and then show what we’ve got.”
Eastham’s side slipped to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Walsall on Tuesday night, in a game where Town conceded two late goals to come away from the Banks’s Stadium with nothing.
“We’re a little bit disappointed in ourselves as a team, I feel we let ourselves down and let the staff down.
“We had come off the back of two really solid performances as a team.
“We’ve sat down and talked about it this week and admitted the fact that we all need to man up and put a real performance in going forward.”
Both sides go into the game level on points, and the 26-year-old is expecting a tight encounter against Gary Bowyer’s side.
“They’re similar to us really. They’ve done really well getting promoted last season and I think they’re riding a bit of momentum.
“They’ve got a good manager there, he’s kept the core of the squad together and it will be a tough test on Saturday."