McAleny fit enough to travel and to play says Fleetwood boss

McAleny has been out of action with an ankle injury since the 1-0 win at Northampton five weeks ago but he has resumed training.

And Rosler revealed McAleny travelled to the south coast for today’s game.

The head coach said: “He is on the plane and everybody who is on the plane is ready to play.

“We don’t have the budget to take tourists down. Every player we are taking has a role to play.”

Rosler says Portsmouth’s recruitment of former Wolves boss Kenny Jackett shows their intent as he relishes Town’s underdog tag.

He added: “I lived on the south coast, so I know how big this club is in terms of history and how big it will be in the future.

“They have attracted Kenny Jackett – for me a very respected manager, a Championship manager managing in League One. That Kenny went there shows their intent.

“Looking through the media, Fleetwood are described as relatively unknown. That is probably true as we have only played Portsmouth twice in history. But we know what we will face and we will show Portsmouth respect for their manager, their squad, their crowd.

“We are going there as a clear underdog but like last year that is good.”

Rosler hinted that Bobbby Grant might be back today after being left out for Tuesday’s win over Bury.

He said: “Each player is different and sometimes it is up to us as coaches and medics to find the right ingredients for each player.

“That is what we are doing with Bobby. We have seen one or two things we need to address and that is what we are working on.

“Bobby is buying in. He does everything that we ask him to do and he is on his way back. It is as simple as that.”

Nathan Pond (above) has sat out the last two games but Rosler says the defender too has a big part to play.

The head coach said: “I had a good talk with him – how I see it, how he sees it and where we are. The situation is different from last year – I don’t really want to go into detail about why.

“Nathan has to play a big role this season, both on the pitch and off it.

“He knows he is a big positive in what we are trying to achieve and he is by nature a very positive man.

“There is a reason he has spent so long at the club – because of the type of person he is.”