Fleetwood Town boss ready for 'big occasion' as Derby County visit

This will be the first time the two teams have met following the Rams’ relegation into League One from the Championship at the end of last season.

After a solid start to life in the third tier under Liam Rosenior, Derby come head-to-head with a Fleetwood side full of confidence and Brown believes his players can rise to the occasion.

“You need to try and silence that crowd,” he said.

“They’re going to bring a huge support here, but the lads want to play in these games and these big occasions and that’s why I brought them here as well and why I believe that they can do it.

“They are a big club, they definitely are. They’ve got fantastic support as well but, yet again, we’ve got fantastic support here and now it’s about our lads and how we prepare for the game.”

Fleetwood supporters have been used to seeing controlled, entertaining football in the opening few weeks of the season.

However, Brown warned his players must be ready to adapt for this afternoon’s game.

“They play a little bit different to most teams,” he said of Derby.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re ready, depending on the team selection and the shape we play.

“The good thing is we can chop and change shape and structure the team.

“We maybe need to look at that and understand it’s not all possession-based – and we can go a little bit more direct.”