Defender Zak Jules sat down with the press for the first time since joining the club and previewed Fleetwood Town’s Sky Bet League One trip to face Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Saturday.
Jules, who signed on with the Cods on a loan until the end of the season from Milton Keynes Dons, made his debut in Town’s last outing which was a home clash against high-flying Rotherham United that ended in a 1-0 win at Highbury.
Here’s what Zak had to say in his interview:
On making his debut against Rotherham…
“It was a great result to get up and running with, to beat a team that’s right up there at the top and one that is pushing for promotion shows how great a result it was. I think it shows the group we’ve got here, and it tells a story that we’re down where we shouldn’t be, in the table, at the moment.
“It felt good to get chucked straight in and go straight into the deep end. It’s always tough when you come into a new team, I’ve only had a couple of days to get to know the boys but, it was good. The boys have been brilliant with me so that has helped me settle in quite quickly and it was a good icebreaker to get a result like that.
“For myself, I didn’t really know how the game was going to go as I wasn’t sure how each individual was going to play so it was a bit of an unknown, but to get a clean sheet and win the game in the manner that we did, it was a right good fight, and we came out on top over everything that they threw at us and nullified them. To nick the win at the end did taste a little bit sweeter.”
On arriving at the club…
“I only know Toto [Nsiala] who signed on the same day as me, so he obviously wasn’t here much earlier than me. I have to say it’s just a welcoming group and a young one at that. Everyone has been brilliant with me, so it hasn’t been a changing room that has been hard for me to walk into.
“The complex here is top draw and it’s definitely somewhere that you enjoy applying your trade by coming in here every single day, there are worse places to come and train so that was a pleasant surprise. The weather hasn’t been too bad either, it might have been a bit kind to me early on, but February is around the corner so I’m not too hopeful about that one.
“I was brought in for some physicality and the gaffer explained to me the style that he wants to play. To play that way with the weather and pitches sometimes is difficult, especially against sides like Rotherham who like drawing you into a battle. He wants to play good football and I think I suit that. It’s definitely a good move from me coming here.”