Fleetwood Town entertain fellow Blue Square North outfit Vauxhall Motors in the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round at Highbury on Saturday.
Town will be wary as the Motormen took all three points on the Wirral in August when Adam Warlow scored the consolation in a 2-1 scoreline.
Town already know what Vauxhall can muster and the early season reversal remains fresh in manager Micky Mellon’s mind. “Vauxhall are a very gritty and determined side. We know full well about that from our visit earlier in the season. We’re forewarned of what they are capable of doing and no one will see a roll over on Saturday. We’ve had another good, hard week in training and the lads are ready for what will be a massive game for the club.”
The manager says the build up and finishing for Town’s two goals last Saturday were top quality but spoiled by giving two goals to Gainsborough which allowed the visitors a point. “Everyone saw two fantastic team goals with two marvellous finishes from Adam. They would have been worthy of winning any game of football. To have an equaliser scored against us 48 seconds after taking the lead is unacceptable. We’ve gone over that with the players and identified where we went wrong and how it won’t be allowed to happen again. "
Turning to selection, Mellon sees Sean Clancy return from his leave of absence and Gareth Seddon fully recovered from his bout of ‘flu.
Clancy may have an opportunity in midfield as Jamie Milligan is carrying a neck injury and Nathan Pond continues to be troubled with back problems despite his substitute appearances in the last two games. “Nathan is carrying a back injury and missed training on Tuesday. He’s been working hard when he can but we need to keep an eye on him.”
The club this week has announced a public presentation on Wednesday, 21st October when plans for the new £4m park-side redevelopment will be unveiled. “It’s great to see news of the latest stadium plans. The players should be inspired without that news and this just forces them even more to realise the ambition of this football club is massive. Everything at this club is done to Football League standard, right from preparation through to how we speak to the players.
“For the fans to have a main stand as a focal point is very important. It also gives us a base to work from and a centre we can all be proud of. It gives the club, the juniors and the community a home that we can be proud of in the middle of town.”
