Head Coach Scott Brown spoke to the press ahead of his side’s trip to face Port Vale in Fleetwood Town’s league opener at Vale Park.
With a full pre-season under his belt, Brown is raring to go and start his first season in charge of the Cods, which starts with a trip to Burslem this weekend.
Here’s what the gaffer had to say in his interview:
On Saturday’s opening fixture…
“The first game of the season is huge for us, we are all looking forward to it. Competition is great for every single person in this squad and we know that there’s always going to be that competition for places, which is what both the players and us as coaching staff expect as well.
“We are going to take it one game at a time this season and Port Vale is a huge game for us. They’re going to play 3-5-2 and are a direct and good team who have just come up from League Two.
“We’ve watched quite a lot of their games recently and have noticed that they are full of energy and like to put a lot of balls in the box, and are fully capable of scoring some great goals as well.
“For us, it’s about how we can stop that and control the game. We’d love to keep control and create more chances than the opposition – that’s my philosophy for football. We want to try and get the ball down and play, but we also know we need to mix and match it in this league.
“They’ve just signed [Funso] Ojo who was with me at Aberdeen last season, and have that [James] Wilson up top for them who was at Aberdeen a couple of years ago so I know a couple of the players quite well and know how they play.
On how the squad have done this pre-season…
“In the pre-season games, they’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do. Not everything is going to go right from the start, whether that’s the passing or the movement, but it’s about doing the right thing at the right time for all of them.
“They’ve looked after their bodies well in the off-season and have come back in fit and have that mentality to carry on and keep pushing themselves. I’m learning from them; they are also learning my style and what I want.
“We’ve had a couple of good wins in pre-season; it’s key to start like that but, the league is the most important thing for myself and the lads. We want to push up that table, and know that Fleetwood are capable to do so.”
On the bond within the squad…
“Pre-season has been good for us; we went away to Croatia for a week which was fantastic for the lads. They seemed to enjoy it, we had double sessions and triple sessions and had a couple of games as well so it was great for the lads to go there and be about each other and train hard at the same time.
“They started to understand what we expect from them and what the shape will be like for the upcoming season, both with and without the ball, and from a personal point, It was good to see the lads work so hard and see the levels we can push them to.
“When you get stuck with a group for a week in a hotel, on coaches, and planes, you get to know them well and they are all great, hard-working lads who want to better themselves and as do I so it seems to be working well at the moment.”
On taking inspiration from previous managers…
“I’ve worked with some fantastic managers throughout the years and, for me, it’s about taking bits from each of them, learn from them, and put that onto the training ground.
“I always wrote sessions down and saved sessions that I liked and understood as a player, and also saved some that may not have worked in the team I was in but may have worked for another.
“I’ve put my point across to the lads and I enjoyed winning, which I will carry on to do as a manager and I hope that will carry over to the lads as well. I always wanted to win whether that was in training or if it was in a game so they’ve got that competitive edge drilled into them as well."