Fleetwood Town Under 18s forward Joe Collins has thanked coach Simon Wiles for his help on and off the field in recent weeks after the side's FA Youth Cup win over Walsall.
Collins opened the scoring in Fleetwood Town’s 3-0 win over Walsall at Highbury last Friday, with Covy Smith scoring the other two goals on the night, to secure the side’s spot in the next round of the FA Youth Cup.
In a recent interview, he had this to say:
On the Walsall win…
“The win felt great, we prepared really well for it and it all showed in the game where we all worked hard. The boys all put 100% in and you could see that from the pressure and intensity from the start.
“Me, Covy (Smith), and Cian (Hayes) pressed from the front and I think that message backed into everybody else through the squad was on our wavelength.
“Playing Crystal Palace in the next round is the only thing everyone is talking about in the training room. The team is all raring to go for the tie and we can’t wait to play that game on the pitch and to prove a big point against a top team.”
On his development with the Under 18s…
“Some games I’ve not been the best and I know that, but I’ve just got to get through it but I’m always thinking about the next game and the next opportunity I have to give 110% at any possibility. I’ve always got to make sure my mindset is right where if that’s sorted everything will go right on the day.
“We learn a lot from our gaffer, he always ensures training is never boring and there’s always a lot of match-day scenarios. (Simon) Wilesy makes sure training is always competitive which allows us as players to gain momentum where we can all get hyped up for the next game.
“I enjoy watching the forwards in the first team like Wes Burns, as it’s a chance for me to learn and adapt some things in my game. Watching what he does in games will help me in the long run as that is the level I want to get to.”
On the current time of regulations…
“It has been difficult during these times because I used to go home every weekend as I’m only from Stockport, Manchester area but now it’s obviously different and tough to not see your family and friends from home every weekend.
"I feel like there’s a good support network here at the club and we’ve got a good group of lads where we always make sure no-one is on their own and we’re always talking, we make sure no-one feels isolated in the squad.”