He cautioned: “We need to be better at dealing with opposition.”
Fleetwood Town manager Lee Johnson has spoken to the media at Poolfoot Farm ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet League One match against Exeter City.
Johnson has guided his side to five games unbeaten, with a win in the EFL Trophy in midweek, a win over Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup First Round and a draw at home to Blackpool, which saw them come from behind to get a point against the Seasiders at Highbury.
With Saturday’s opponents only a few places above Town, the manager sees this as a ‘six-pointer’ and knows the importance of his players sticking to the game plan if they’re to get all three points on home soil.
Here’s what Johnson had to say, with the full interview available on iFollow.
On the confidence and belief within the squad…
“I think the win on Tuesday has been good for the group. We’ve had some really good successes in recent weeks, we are now five games unbeaten but I wish we’d have taken more points from the set of matches, but all of this sets things up nicely for Saturday.
“We are going into this match wanting to get the three points and really cement what has been a fantastic week for the club. It’s a bit of a six-pointer on Saturday, isn’t it? I must say I’ve never quite understood that saying but now I do, and we want to draw in as many teams as possible who are above us.
“I always talk about the process, but you do naturally look at the league table if you lose or draw, and if you win you see if you’ve got out of the relegation zone, but the lads now have the play in the moment, and that will be the key.
“If we give everything and if we perform on the day as we have done in recent matches, we will have a very good chance of winning this game and that’s the message. It will keep us looking forward if we win on Saturday, and we are scoring more goals as a squad and I think we look more fluid in possession, but we need to cope with opposition moments better.”
On further improvements needed going forward…
“I want to do a lot here. I want to professionalise things off the pitch and on the pitch, I want to turn decent performances into winning runs and we want to continue educating the younger players and nature them.
“The Academy are doing a great job and then they’re coming over to us and it’s about naturing them ready for men’s football. There are a lot of decisions to make daily, but we need to be brave and bold – this has always been an innovative Club and has done things differently to compete and fits my ethos.”
On Exeter this weekend…
“I think Exeter have a very good attacking threat, and they will pile a lot of numbers forward on Saturday and with that comes a lot of energy. Their formation at times can be tricky to deal with but with that comes opportunities for us to exploit.
“This is why we do our work on the training ground, and hopefully that gives the players confidence from the preparation that we provide. Exeter could tweak their tactics for this match but it’s about understanding individuals strengths and weaknesses and see how we can penetrate their back four
