New signing Jay Lynch sat down with the club after penning a two-year deal with the Cods for his first interview at Poolfoot Farm.
The 29-year-old goalkeeper, who has amassed over 200 appearances throughout his career to date, joins Town after spending the last three years at Rochdale and has earned multiple promotions and individual awards at clubs before that.
Here's what Jay had to say in his first interview:
On what made him chose to join Fleetwood…
“I was drawn to the club as I wanted to return to League One, staying up last season was pivotal for the club, and I feel that the players did themselves proud doing so. The training facilities at Poolfoot [Farm] are unbelievable as well, they are easily Championship standard so turning up and seeing this is always a massive draw for anyone coming here.
“The division is massive this year with quite a few teams that shouldn’t be anywhere near the league, it will be a privilege to go to some of the grounds, but we still have to go to each of them knowing that we can come away with a result as the lads earned the right to be here by staying up last year.
“All I’ll say is that I give my all when I’m on the pitch. I can get off my line quickly and can distribute the ball well, which are key elements in a modern goalkeeper now as you can’t be afraid of having the ball at your feet at any time during a game. I like to think I can mix it up as I’m hoping I can be a good shot-stopper for the club whilst here as well.”
On working under Scott Brown next season…
“The feeling of being wanted was also massive in me deciding to join the club as the manager [Scott Brown] gave me a phone call and was completely honest with me on it. What he said aligned with what I was thinking and was on board with him from the start and I couldn’t wait to get everything over the line from that point.
“He’s a great character by the sounds of it; I spoke to a few people who know him and they all spoke highly of him, if you look at his on-the-pitch antics, he comes across quite scary but when we had a chat, he was calm and very knowledgeable so I can’t wait to meet him face to face on the first day back in training and get to work.”
On his career to date…
“It was good to start my career at Bolton [Wanderers] as it offered a positive learning curve, with the likes of [Jussi] Jaaskelainen, Adam Bogdan, and Andy Lonergan in front of me. With the competition for places, it was all about me going out and getting games and that’s how I ended up at Salford where I played quite a few games and won a couple of promotions.
“After that, I made the move to a local side to here in AFC Fylde which was a step up as I was able to test myself in the Conference and I feel that the side did well during my time there and we even got to feature at Wembley in 2019 for the play-off final, which didn’t quite work out, but it was a great experience.
“I wanted to try my hand at coming into the football league and that’s when I moved to Rochdale, which seemed to be another positive step forwards in my career. I played a few games once again there but, that’s over now as I’m just happy to be here at Fleetwood.”
On being familiar with the North West and Fylde Coast…
“I’ve been around the North West and I know that it gets windy around here – that’s for sure! I live local as well so all of these things play a factor in moving here and it will make the transition that much easier. I know Josh [Vela] from my time at Bolton so that will help as I can latch onto him straight away on the first day.
“He’s a great character and from what I saw, if the manager is looking to bring in players like that, I think we’ll have a good season. I know him both on and off the pitch very well, I know how he plays, and he knows me as well. We’ll settle in with the good core of players that are already in the dressing room and will hopefully get off to a winning start in pre-season.
“I think I’ll probably ease myself in as I don’t want to be coming in and shouting on day one, I’ve seen what the lads are all about already and I don’t think it’ll take long for me to get in and around them when everyone’s back later this month – I just can’t wait to get going and start playing again.”
Watch Jay and the Cods play at Highbury next season!
Make sure you are in the stands to watch our new signing during the 2022/23 season by getting your very own Onward Card! They are on sale now, with adult tickets starting at just £14.17 a month and Under-16s from just £1.92 a month. Details are HERE.