Club captain Nathan Pond says Fleetwood Town are preparing for a tough challenge on Saturday against Southend United.
Pond spoke to the press on Thursday afternoon at Poolfoot Farm after last weekend’s defeat away at Portsmouth, and is determined to put things right against Phil Brown’s side at Highbury.
The Shrimpers currently sit 17th in the league but despite their position, Pond believes it will be a tough test against a side who finished one place outside of the playoffs last year.
“We are excited for the game against Southend,” said the 32-year-old.
“They have a lot of experienced players who have been around the block with the likes of Anton Ferdinand and Simon Cox. They are a physical side with some very physical players up front. It will be a challenge for us but hopefully we can get the three points.
“There are positives to take out of last week’s game against Portsmouth, but we do need to work on our concentration.
“We drew level with a fantastic goal by Devante Cole but then we conceded five minutes later. That is when you are at your most vulnerable.”
Town suffered only their second defeat of the season against Pompey, but are yet to taste defeat at home, with three wins and a draw so far at Highbury.
“We have worked hard on the training ground this week,” added Pond.
“The double sessions have allowed us time to go over a few errors where we can improve from; especially inside of our box.
“We’ve had a good week, but we need to gel into the game on Saturday because that is the most important thing.
“We have a young squad and it’s vital that the senior lads are there to make sure the other lads are training properly. We need to learn to manage games better but that will come with experience as the season progresses.”
The centre-half isn’t known for his goal-scoring prowess but has scored in every season for Fleetwood except from the 2016/17 season, and the captain wants to put that stat right sooner rather than later.
“My last two goals have been in the wrong net which isn’t good.
“We do need to score more from corners but personally it’s frustrating not scoring myself. I believe last season was my first season not scoring for the club and that needs to change this season by getting on the score sheet.”