Forward Joe Garner sat down with the press ahead of Fleetwood Town’s weekend off due to the international break and spoke about his signing for the club and his relationship with Head Coach Simon Grayson.
The vastly experienced striker has put pen-to-paper on a two-year deal following his departure from Apoel FC in Cyprus. Garner, 33, is a proven goal scorer having fired more than 100 league goals during spells at the likes of Preston North End, Glasgow Rangers, Wigan Athletic, Ipswich Town, and Nottingham Forest.
Here’s what he had to say:
On the decision to join Fleetwood Town…
“It was brilliant [in Cyprus] – I had a great time and met some brilliant people who I’ll keep in contact with, but I’ve done my time there now and I’ve come back to reality. I’ve been away for a year and when you look at League One now, it’s going to be competitive which is something you want as a player - you want to test yourself.
“I’ve been seeing the games with the fans back and I said to the gaffer, when you look at League One, I’ve had offers in many different leagues and when you look at the table this year, you’ve got the likes of Sunderland, Ipswich, Portsmouth, and Sheffield Wednesday so if you look at the league, it’s one you would want to be a part of.”
On his relationship with Simon Grayson…
“The gaffer knows the league well and knows who the characters are as well and knows what to do to bring the best out of people. I would say he brought the best out of me; we had a good three or four years at Preston, but I’m here now and I’m looking to do a job for Fleetwood.
“He’s not here to babysit anyone, he’s here to do the best for the football club and when you look at his record in this division, it speaks for itself. I think we’ve got a good team here so hopefully I can help them; I know how the gaffer works so let’s see whether we can do something special here this year.”