Fleetwood defender Tom Clarke 'frustrated and bewildered' by Wigan defeat but vows squad will stick together

Town's 2-0 Highbury lead was overturned in the space of 10 second-half minutes by new League One leaders Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night.

Centre-back Clarke's return to the side after four weeks out injured helped Town to a confidence-boosting draw with Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, though he couldn't prevent the collapse which saw Latics win 3-2 three days later.

Clarke said: "It's very frustrating because in the first half we managed their threat really well and we were confident at half-time.

"We got the second with the penalty and then we're a bit bewildered by what happened. I'm not sure how they got back into it and it's something we're going to have to look at.

"I don't know if them changing their system affected us but we let them dictate play a bit more and there seemed to be gaps for them running forward.

"Max Power dictated too much for my liking but they are top of the league and they will push you, but we need to look at why they were able to do that.

"We were 2-0 up at home and should have been pushing for a third, so it's very frustrating."

But the veteran defender says confidence and team spirit are undimmed and he is convinced Town can turn the corner.

"The lads are so disappointed but we need to regroup, stick together and keep pushing," he added.

"In the first half we showed real quality and we have quality players.

"Things are not dropping for us at the minute but we are together as a group and hopefully we'll get that win.

"We are confident. There are times when we've dominated games and we've played a lot of the top teams. We need to dominate for 90 minutes and not just 45."

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