Midfielder Dan Batty spoke to the press on Thursday afternoon ahead of Fleetwood’s clash with Hull City in Sky Bet League One.
Batty – who joined the Cod Army from The Tigers – will be returning to his former club for the first time on Saturday. The midfielder has recently extended his stay with Fleetwood as he secured a multi-year deal to keep him on the Fylde Coast.
Here’s what Dan had to say in his pre-match press conference:
On the game…
“I think it will be an interesting one. We like a challenge so it’s nice to be coming up against the teams at the top, hopefully, we can get a good result as we have in the past. I think we can go there and give them a good contest.
“We will work together as a team. The forwards set the pace, pressing from the front. It’s just hard work from then on, the midfielders push and work hard together, and the backline help keep it nice and strong so collectively, we have a good base at the minute. As long as the team is in great shape, I think we hard to break down as we haven't conceded that many goals.
“They’re pushing for promotion so they’ll be a strong unit, and everybody will be fighting for each other. We are still going to push as hard as we can as a team, we aren’t just going to let the season fall off at the end.
Going back to his former club…
"I don't know how it's going to feel. I've not done this sort of thing before, playing against a former club. I was there for years and this is the first time I've been away from the club. It's going to be weird arriving back there in a different coloured kit but it's a challenge I'm willing to embrace.
"It will be a bit strange as I had quite a few years there and it's come back around quite quickly to be heading back there so it will be an interesting one.
"The fixture doesn't really bother me as I'm here to play my football but I do think it'll be a weird one after spending so long there. Both us and Hull have been on good spells recently so I think we can go and give them a good contest - it'll be very nice if we could get the win."
On his time at Fleetwood…
“It’s been enjoyable ever since I joined the club. I got back into playing first-team football and I’ve been playing regularly so it’s been great. When I first came here, I could see that the team was developing and that they were going to push to end the season well, especially for next season as I feel we have a good base to work from.
“We have a good group of players who like to try hard for each other and that will hopefully help bring others in to further strengthen the side and give it a real good go.
"You can’t look too far ahead, and you’ve got to keep your focus for the next one, and the one after that. We aren’t looking back and seeing what we should have done, so we are taking it game by game.”
Watch Dan’s interview on our iFollow HERE.