Fleetwood Town midfielder Kyle Dempsey spoke to the media on Friday morning at Poolfoot Farm ahead of Sunday’s First Round Emirates FA Cup tie against Barnet.
Since the start of the season, Dempsey has made 11 appearances in all competitions for the Cod Army, scoring the one against Southend United in the 3-3 draw at Roots Hall in September.
The 24-year-old has had some great FA Cup memories with the club, the most noticeable being against former Premier League champions Leicester City at Highbury in 2018.
Ahead of Sunday's match, check out the key points from what Kyle had to say in his pre-match conference:
On the FA Cup & the match against Barnet…
“The FA Cup is an opportunity for clubs, and if you can put a few wins together you will get to that Third Round and never know who you are going to get , hopefully one of the big teams.
“We know for Barnet that this is going to be a massive game. They will see it as an opportunity to take a scalp of a League One team, and it’s going to important that we execute our game plan on the day and be at 100% to get the win.”
On scoring more from midfield….
“Since the day I got here, my goal scoring form hasn’t been there and I think with the performances that have been up there, the goals are just lacking in the final third.
“I am working on the goal scoring department every day in training and if I can get more goals into my game, then it will only benefit the team on a Saturday.
“Sometimes it is about being selfish in the box, but I like to get the ball down and play football and find that key pass. The gaffer has even told me to pull the trigger when I get into the key areas and have some space from the defender.
“It’s something I want to improve and hopefully in the next few weeks you might see me being a little bit more selfish in and around the box.”
On his form…
“I have come back into the side and showed performances that have been at a high level and in that me, and the gaffer [Joey Barton] and I have built a great relationship this year and with that belief from him, the staff and the players, it allows me to deliver what I can do best.
“The mindset I had this season was to come back here and prove people wrong. Last year I was on loan at Peterborough United and in pre-season I wanted to prove a point, and with my performances, I think I have delivered.
“I pulled the gaffer for a chat in one of the first sessions and basically said that I don’t want to dwell to much on last season. I didn’t want him to hold any grudges because I wanted to show him that I was a different player.
“It might have taken him a couple of weeks in pre-season to see that I was a different player, and on the back of that he said it was my opportunity to show everyone what I can do.”