Fleetwood Town boss isn't shocked by Accrington Stanley's progress

Today sees Town host a Stanley side sitting seventh in the division, three points adrift of the play-offs.

Both sides go into the game on the back of midweek defeats, Town to Sunderland and Accrington against Crewe Alexandra.

Grayson said: “I think the people that are surprised where Accrington are haven’t seen them and don’t know the players as much, or Jimmy (Bell, assistant manager) and Coley (John Coleman, manager).

“When you watch them, they play with enthusiasm. They’re on the front foot, they’ve got a front two who are very positive in how they do things and are a handful.

“We’re certainly under no illusions. This isn’t going to be an easy game for us.

“Both teams lost on Tuesday night 2-0 and both teams want to get back to winning ways very quickly.

“The game at the weekend is one where we want to get back to winning ways and play with a purpose like we did against Charlton, where we totally dominated the game last week, and like we did against Doncaster where we won 3-1.”

Grayson, who has plenty of League One promotions on his CV, believes Stanley’s current position is the result of work over many years on and off the pitch.

On it, the Highbury boss is prepared to meet a side capable of playing more than one way.

He said: “When you look at the last few years, they’re a side that have been in the bottom half of the division or in League Two but they’ve got this attitude that they just want to prove people wrong.

“It’s a football club that is on the up and people can dare to dream about being promoted to the Championship.

“Any football club, when you’ve got the balance of being able to play out from the back or go longer with two willing workhorses like they have, it’s a nice balance.

“Sometimes, when you play against teams that play solely one way, it can be easier to manage but Accrington can mix it up.

“In the midfield, they can play as a three or as a four in a diamond, all of those midfield players have different attributes.

“I’m sure Jimmy and John will be looking and thinking Fleetwood have got some players that can hurt them, played really well against Doncaster and dominated the game against Charlton. I don’t think they’re foolish enough not to think that.”

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