Head Coach Stephen Crainey spoke to the media after his side confirmed their position in League One for next season, despite a 4-2 loss against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.
Town started their game against Bolton with a brilliant goal from Barry Baggley, who was brought into the side for the first time in a while, but freak goals after that cancelled out that and Joe Garner’s second, which meant the home side would come away with the win.
Here’s what the Fleetwood boss had to say:
On the game…
“It’s mixed emotions, we’re disappointed to lose the game first and foremost. We came here with a game plan, and I believed that we could win the game, but we didn’t do that.
“Going 2-1 down to Bolton away, we responded brilliantly. A few corners and set pieces happened and then Joe [Garner] popped up with a goal again and I started to think we could go on to win the game.
“All of a sudden, a freak goal happens that means we went 3-2 down which was a bit of a sucker punch. We heard from the dugout that the results were going in our favour elsewhere, so it is a real mix of emotions.”
On the season as a whole…
“I want to thank the club for giving me the opportunity to take this role on, I’ve really enjoyed it and the players have responded brilliantly every day to everything I’ve asked of them. The results could have been slightly better but there’s been the injury scenario we’ve had. The main goal for this group of lads when I took over was to remain in the league and we’ve done that.
“The younger players have gained a lot of experience from the opportunities we’ve given them and it’s going to put them in a great place for the future. They’re going to gain valuable experience as will I, I’m going to reflect on my own performance and see what I could have done better as well.
“It’s not just been tough for me, it’s been tough for the fans as well. The fans have been amazing, and I want to thank every one of them, whether they’re here at Bolton today or they’ve been at Highbury for every single game or watched on iFollow, they’ve paid their hard-earned money that they work for to come and watch this team and I’m really grateful for that.”
On his future…
“I’m going to sit down with the football club and whatever direction the chairman chooses is the direction he will go in. He’s the man that runs the football club, so, I’m sure there’ll be dialogue and I’m sure he’ll announce something in due course.”
“I enjoy working with the lads, and I hope they enjoy working with me but that’s not for me to say. The mentality of the younger group and the senior group with the blend that we’ve had, obviously the injury situation hasn’t helped, but the way they’ve come together and overcome it, they’ve been a credit to themselves.
“I love football, it’s that simple. I want to be involved in the game, I had a long career playing myself and Fleetwood have given me an unbelievable opportunity to come into the club, starting with the academy right through to this role that I’m in now, so I don’t want to stop.”