Fleetwood have 'fantastic opportunity to put it right' against Portsmouth says boss Simon Wiles

Simon Wiles wants Fleetwood Town to build momentum at home

Fleetwood Town's balancing act for the January transfer window

His first game in charge saw Town lose in midweek to Hull City, conceding three late goals to surrender a 2-0 lead in the Papa John’s Trophy.

They now see tomorrow’s home clash with Portsmouth as the perfect opportunity to put things right.

It will be Wiles’ first league game in charge and in any normal season would have come in front of a boisterous Cod Army support.

Wiles wants to start building momentum as games will soon be coming thick and fast.

He said: “We can’t wait. We’ve got a fantastic opportunity to put it right from Tuesday night against Portsmouth.

“They’re doing really well in the league. Three league games ago, it was 0-0 at their place and it was a really tight affair, so we know they’re going to bring their experience to Highbury on Saturday.

“We know we need to be at our best to compete and hopefully get over the line with three points.

“It’s about building momentum now. If we take what we can from Tuesday night, there were a lot of positives from how we wanted to embed our way of playing.

“We’ll be taking those positives into the game on Saturday and then on to MK Dons on Tuesday and Wigan the following Saturday.

“For me, it’s just about getting that momentum built up and getting the results that match the performances.”

Despite the lack of supporters at games, Wiles wants Town to continue being formidable opposition on their home patch.

With or without fans, they have always had a good record on home turf.

And ahead of tomorrow’s clash, Wiles said: “I want to make Highbury a difficult place to come.

“Portsmouth have the journey, and they’ve got to come and stamp their authority on the game.

“I truly believe that if we do what we can do and what we’re all about, then we can give a really good account of ourselves.

“Taking the positives into this game, playing like we did for the first 65 or 70 minutes at Hull will give us a really good chance.

“There is confidence in the building. The players are in really good spirits.

“Yes, there were frustrations on Tuesday but we take the positives.

“We work hard in training and we make sure the players are in the best place possible to get the performance we’re after.”

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