Bamber Bridge boss Jamie Milligan is flattered to be linked with Fleetwood Town manager's position BUT downplays links

The Cod Army are in the process of replacing Simon Grayson who was sacked at the end of last month.

Stephen Crainey is currently in caretaker charge of the club at the moment and could be handed the job on a permanent basis.

At various points in recent days, Bamber Bridge manager Milligan has been touted to replace Grayson by the bookies.

A legendary figure in Fleetwood's history, Milligan spent nearly a decade with the club as a player - skippering them to promotion to the Football League in 2012.

In 2019 he became manager of Brig, replacing Joey Collins at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.

After his first two seasons at Irongate were wrecked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Milligan has made people sit up and take notice this campaign after guiding the club to second place in the NPL Premier Division.

They were top until Buxton moved one point ahead of them after beating Scarborough Athletic 5-1 in midweek.

Fiercely ambitious Milligan has made no secret of his desire to manage higher up the football pyramid, although it remains to be seen whether taking charge of the Cod Army now would be too early in his managerial career.

He signed a new three-year contract with Brig in October and at the time said he needed to earn his stripes as a manager and had plenty to learn.

Fleetwood are currently in the League One relegation zone and were beaten 5-1 by derby rivals Accrington Stanley last weekend.

However, they responded to that heavy defeat in the best possible fashion on Tuesday, beating Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at Highbury.

Milligan said: "It's great to have your name linked with a club like that.

"Listen, I went to watch them the other night and I think they have got a great young squad.

"They have an ambitious chairman but at the minute I am contracted to Bamber Bridge and I have to do my best for this football club.

"It's good that I am getting recognised but I still feel like I have got a lot to learn - I still need to learn my trade.

"Obviously we have had a good start to the season but it means nothing if you don't finish strong.

"I just have to concentrate on that and keep doing a good job for the club.

"I do want to manage higher up the ladder, I have never hidden that fact but I am at a good club where I can learn, make mistakes and not really get punished for those mistakes.

"I have a chairman here who is understanding of that but 100% I want to manage higher."

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