Manager Lee Johnson spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon ahead of his side’s Emirates FA Cup Second Round clash against Cambridge United on Saturday.
The Cods earned their spot in this round of the competition after beating Kidderminster Harriers 2-1 at Aggborough Stadium at the start of November when Town came back from a goal down thanks to defenders Josh Earl and Shaun Rooney producing headers either side of the half to earn the victory.
Here’s what Johnson had to say ahead of the game:
On moving on and playing in the FA Cup…
“I love the FA Cup, personally, and was born very near Cambridge so I’m looking forward to going back there. I just see this as the next game, it’s an opportunity to build the performance and restart another unbeaten run, and I believe in a course of consistency throughout the season, you will then find your place in this league.
“Overall, it’s the next game, and it’s an enjoyable one because it allows me to see a couple of players that are either regaining fitness, deserve their chance, or have been away on an international break. CJ [Carl Johnston] as an example will get a chance to start and he’s a fantastic lad who’s a great character and deserves it.”
On growing up and being around Cambridge…
“I have brilliant memories from being around Cambridge, I was born in Newmarket just down the road, and dad was manager of Newmarket Town and then moved as – believe it or not – Commercial Director and Reserve Manager. We all had to sacrifice for him to get into professional football and was then named Assistant Manager.
“That was when I was caught hiding in skips trying to listen to team talks, and this was a time when there were old-school characters in and around the place who were aggressive and strong, and it was interesting for me as someone who wanted to be a footballer to see what went on and I learned a lot in that time.”
On building the culture here at Fleetwood…
“This club has built up their strength in being little Fleetwood who can come and upset the odds in this division, with some historical giants, so we’ve got to play our part in that and, to do that, we need to use the facilities we’ve got, respect each other, and do everything with an ‘All Blacks’ type culture.
“Ben [Heneghan]’s an example of this as an hour and 15 minutes after the game on Tuesday, was sweeping the dressing room and I thought that was a good sign of the culture there, Ben has recognised the standards here at the Club, and helped Youl [Mawene] sweep the sheds so we left Wigan with the respect they deserve.
“If we can get this culture completely embedded, this will help us start to make our performances more consistent because I can understand fans looking at our performances and saying we’ve done well in that phase of the game, but we were unlucky against Stevenage because we’ve had 31 shots – success isn’t a straight line.”