Midfielder Paul Coutts spoke to the press after Fleetwood Town’s pre-season loss to Blackburn Rovers at Highbury Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Fleetwood took the lead early on in the game, thanks to a close-range strike from Ched Evans, but goals from Harry Chapman, Adam Armstrong, and Luke Brennan saw Tony Mowbray’s men walk away with a win.
Captain Coutts played all 90 minutes for the first time, with the side’s first competitive fixture only two weeks away, which will be a home Carabao Cup tie against Wigan Athletic on Saturday 5 September.
Here is what Coutts had to say…
On the game…
“I thought the first half was quite even, but in the second, we didn’t have a great start and I think we gave away a few sloppy goals.
“We don’t like losing any games, so we are disappointed, but the main thing is getting the fitness in ahead of the new season.
“It is all about preparing for the start of the season and it’s good that a few of the lads got 90 minutes there.”
On the break…
“It’s been short, we carried on through lockdown as we got ready for the playoffs. We played the two games, had a short break and then came back, so in that sense we’ve all come back reasonably fit.
“It’s nice to have a short break to bounce back from last season. We’re disappointed about how it finished. It didn’t quite happen for us last year, but we’ll be back this year.
“We wouldn’t have wanted a long summer to dwell on missing out on the play offs as we just want to get going again.”
On the upcoming season…
“In terms of next seasons fixtures, we’ve got Burton on the opening day and that’s as far as we’ve looked ahead. We’ll prepare for that game, work hard, and hopefully start the season with three points.
“I think last year was hard, and with none of the bigger teams getting out, it’s going to be tough this year. Nobody likes coming to Fleetwood, so we fancy our chances to be in amongst it again.
“We’ve made some good signings already. I think we’re still a couple of bodies light but once we’ve got those in, I think we will be able to push for promotion again.”