Fleetwood Town midfielder Brendan Wiredu spoke to the local media ahead of Saturday's Sky Bet League One match at Highbury against Port Vale.
Since joining the club back in the summer, Wiredu has become a fans' favourite on and off the pitch. His performances have seen him win multiple 'Player of the Month' awards as voted for by the fans on the club's official Instagram, and the midfielder / defender knows what this current crop of players are capable of.
Town have suffered back-to-back away defeats since their heroic performance against high-flying Burnley last Wednesday, and with Port Vale the visitors to Highbury at the weekend, it's a chance to put the last two games behind.
Here's what Brendan had to say in his pre-match interview:
On the team & being more consistent…
“It has been an up and down season. We’ve had some good moments and some not so good, but the foundations are there to move forward as a collective and that’s a positive to take forward.
“We have shown against some of the top teams that we are a good outfit, and we need to do that against teams in and around us, and at the bottom of the table. As the unbeaten run showed, when we are on our day, we always give it a good go.
“As a group, we want to take each game as it comes, but we are also optimistic inside the dressing room and we know we are all looking above us in the table, no one is looking down or below us so hopefully we can keep pushing up the table and with Port Vale on Saturday, hopefully we get the three points.”
On being a centre-back and midfielder…
“To be fair, I think I am a better midfielder, but I have surprised myself with how well I have done at the back. The role’s aren’t too different as I get on the ball a lot at centre-back and I can dictate the play from there.
“At the back, you are sometimes waiting for the ball to come to you, whereas in midfielder, you are active and on the front foot a little more.
“My first game at the back was against Ebbsfleet in the FA Cup. We knew we’d have more of the ball, so the idea was for me to play from the back, and I did well. I have been coming into midfielder and going back into defence, so if doing well there, why change it.”
On the leadership within the group…
“There’s a lot of leadership from the gaffer [Head coach Scott Brown], but there’s also a lot of leadership from ourselves as players, especially on the pitch. We like to think we can take control at times, especially when those on the side can’t see the game as we do.
“We have the likes of Josh Vela, Toto Nsiala, Danny Andrew and I would like to put myself in there. Football is about solving problems on the pitch and I think at times we do that well as players.”
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