Head Coach Stephen Crainey spoke to the press on Thursday afternoon ahead of his side’s league fixture against Accrington Stanley at Highbury.
The Cods are currently on a three-game unbeaten streak, with their last result being a 1-1 draw against Lincoln City on Tuesday night, in which Dan Batty scored Fleetwood’s goal.
They will be looking to take it one step further when Accy travel to the Fylde Coast at the weekend so they can climb further up the Sky Bet League One table.
Here’s what Stephen had to say in his pre-match interview:
On Saturday’s opposition…
“We need to set a good tempo from the start as we know what Accrington are going to bring. We know it will be a physical examination, as they do against most teams, but it’s all about what we do and if we set up for the game right, and show the right intensity in-game, we will be alright.
“Every game in League One is tough and Saturday is going to be no different, regardless of what form they’ve had away from home. We know what they are all about as they are a physical side and will test anyone in that department, we are expecting them to do the same as us. Hopefully, our footballing quality will come through as we watched their last game against Wigan, and they were unlucky in that.
“I thought they passed the ball around well throughout the game so they’ve got both sides to their play and have players that can hurt you. We need to make sure we are on our toes from the start of the game and make sure that we are fully prepared for the encounter.”
On the competition for places…
“We’ve got plenty of competition for places, which is great, and I thought both Dan Batty and Callum Camps did well last game so let’s hope they can keep that up until the end of the season. They’ve got a lot of League One appearances under their belts so, in that sense, they’ve got the experience of playing league football.
“Some of the younger lads may not have that, but they have earned some valuable experience in the games they have played in. The two experienced players were good the other night, but that doesn’t mean they will play every game for the rest of the season. I will pick teams that I think will win games and that will be different personnel for different teams.”
On the side’s recent and upcoming games…
“I thought we were good for an hour, all that was missing was the second goal which, unfortunately for us, we never got it. We started the second half well, but Lincoln came into the game in the last half hour. We are disappointed we didn’t get three points after looking at the chances we created, but we can’t change that now as we move on to Accrington on Saturday.
“We need to worry about what we’re doing; we’ve not lost in three games which is good – would we like more points on the board, absolutely, but when you don’t win games, you make sure you don’t lose them and that’s what we’ve done. We are looking forward to Saturday, our home form has been relatively good and, with the backing of the crowd, they can hopefully see us over the line.
“I’m confident that we will be in every game from now until the end of the season and the group believes that as well, so we need to make sure we keep those beliefs. I don’t want it to come down to the last day, or goal difference, I think we won’t be in that position as I believe we will earn enough points to stay in the league and I’m sure the lads can get them.”