Head Coach Stephen Crainey spoke to the media ahead of his side’s Sky Bet League One clash against league leaders Rotherham United at Highbury on Saturday.
The Cods head into the league fixture on the back of a 1-0 win over Doncaster Rovers at the Eco-Power Stadium last time out. New signing Ellis Harrison scored the decisive goal in the tie which rounded of a perfect debut for the forward, and Crainey will be hoping to build on this when the Millers travel to the Fylde Coast.
Here’s what Stephen had to say ahead of the game:
On Saturday’s opposition…
“I’m looking forward to the game, we are coming off the back of a good result which was a win against Doncaster at the weekend, and games that follow don’t come much bigger than the club at the top of the league so it’s going to be a good test to see where the group are at. We’ll go into the game with confidence, prepare properly, and hope we can get a positive result on the day.
“They are a good solid side, who have got strength in depth in the squad, but we feel like we are going into it with some good form and have played well in the last game in Doncaster so, hopefully, we can back that up at Highbury this weekend. We know their strengths and we are hoping to combat those and will look to play at their weaknesses as well.
“This is a good benchmark to see how far we’ve come as a team; the group have been unbelievable up until now and I’m sure they will carry that on come Saturday. We’re under no illusions as we know how tough it will be so if we can get in and about them and play our style of football at the same time, we will be more likely to get a positive result at the end of it.”
On the squad and their recent form…
“We want to go into every game looking to win it, it’s going to be a tough game, but we have confidence in the camp, and we want to back up the Doncaster win and try to get a positive result. What will be, will be; we’ll take every game as it comes but we know we’ve got some top-quality players in the building, with a good mixture of youth and experience, and hopefully that will get us over the line at ten-to-five.
“Since Ellis [Harrison] has come in, he’s been brilliant. He’s not at full-match speed as of yet but he managed an hour at Doncaster, and I was pleased with what I saw. In training, he’s been good as well so hopefully, he can back his goal up that he got on his debut and hit a bit of form and hit the back of the net regularly for us.
“We’ve got good players, but we’ve just been unfortunate with injuries at the top end of the pitch. Ged Garner, Joe Garner, and some in the middle slot so to get Ellis in has been a big boost for the group and hopefully, he can help those younger lads in that top line as well. He can do different parts of the game; he can take it in, he can run in behind, and can mix it up by being physical as well so it’s nice to have that option at the top end of the pitch.”