Midfielder Dan Batty spoke to the press ahead of Fleetwood Town’s fixture against AFC Wimbledon on Thursday afternoon at Poolfoot Farm.
Batty has recently come back into the side after suffering an injury and has set his sights on helping the Cods retain their League One status by putting in maximum effort for the games that are left this season, starting with this weekend’s home fixture against the Wombles.
Here’s what Dan had to say in his interview:
On the run-in…
“It’s brilliant for a small town to all come together and get behind the lads and, I think we are going to motivate ourselves, but they can certainly give us a big uplift during the game. I feel like the bunch of lads we’ve got are working hard, we didn’t expect to be in the position we are in, but we’ve got to be confident going into the next three games.
“At Gillingham, we stuck together well and got the point. It’s a tough place to go and we knew it was going to be a scrap so looking at the fixture, a point on the road was good for us. We know we’ve got the ability to go and win games as a team and, knowing the work we’ve been doing and what we’ve been doing on the training pitch, it’s all in our hands to produce results.
“We know it’s going to be tough against Wimbledon as they are in a predicament like us, but I think we’ve got quality that can shine through and can go on to win the game. They’re in the scrap as well which means it’s going to be a battle, but it’s one I’m looking forward to.”
On Stephen Crainey…
“He wants me in the team for the energy, to work hard for him and I think I give that for him. I go into games giving 100 percent and I think that’s all he can ask from me. He’s a motivator in the talks he has before, during, and after games; he knows what he wants from us, and we’ve got to produce what he wants - we’ve really bought into it. If we do what he’s asked to a good standard, I think we will be more than fine.
“He’s down to earth so what you see is what you get and, as players, that’s what you want. He tells you what he wants you to do and that’s it, he’s happy for us to do certain things differently, but he still likes to see what we work on during training as that gives us the best chance to succeed.
“We’re feeling confident, looking forward to the run-in as I think we are all ready to give it a good go in the three massive games left for us this season and we will be looking for the best outcome we can get. Every game matters from now until the end, they are all massive games for us.”
On the younger players in the side…
“He’s [Stephen Crainey] been fantastic with us ever since he’s stepped into the role, we’ve all gelled well with him, and I think he’s been a good asset to have around the place. He knows what the young lads are like, and what they are capable of, so it’ll probably be nice for him to see them progress into the first team, so he’s got the balance between knowing what they are like as players and what they are like as people.
“With the quality we have in this team, it should be enough to get us out of this position we are in. The younger players have been needed, we’ve had a lot of injuries and they’ve had to be called upon and they’ve done well when they have been brought in. The team is changing each week so having to step in and adapt their game is something they’ve done for us.”