Madden: Fleetwood Town's players cannot play the blame game

Fleetwood forward Paddy Madden says the squad can only look at themselves if they do not get themselves out of the relegation zone.
Paddy Madden salvaged a point for Town against Plymouth Argyle last weekendPaddy Madden salvaged a point for Town against Plymouth Argyle last weekend
Paddy Madden salvaged a point for Town against Plymouth Argyle last weekend

Town are a point off safety as they travel to play-off chasers Charlton Athletic.

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Madden, who scored in Town’s 1-1 draw with Plymouth Argyle last time out, says the players’ fate is in their own hands.

After Charlton they face fellow relegation rivals in Rochdale, Northampton Town and AFC Wimbledon – and Madden is certain Town will stay up.

He said: “I’m positive we will get out of it and if somehow we don’t we only have ourselves to blame.

“Because we have everyone around us to play, there are points up there for grabs and I am 100 per cent positive we will be OK.

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“It is a bit of a cliche but all we can do is really concentrate on ourselves.

“It is a bonus other results are going our way but I’m confident we will get out of it.”

That leveller against Plymouth was Madden’s fourth since joining the club from Scunthorpe United in January.

He believes he has settled in well as he aims to score the goals to keep Town in League One.

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He said: “It is a great bunch of lads; I’ve been around this league for many years now, we have what it takes to get out of it and I am positive we will.

“All I was brought in to do was score goals and thankfully that is happening.”

Saturday sees Town face Karl Robinson’s Addicks, who bid to bounce back from Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Blackpool and cut the five-point gap on sixth-placed Peterborough United.

Neverthless, Madden believes that a repeat of last Saturday’s performance against Plymouth Argyle will see Town leave the capital with something for their efforts.

He said: “It is going to be tough.

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“Charlton are a good side with a good manager that plays nice football.

“It is going to be a tough game but positive if we play like we did on Saturday we will get something.”

And the former Yeovil man says the Cod Army will have a part to play at the weekend too as they bid to win their first game since beating Southend United in January.

He said: “The fans here are brilliant, you don’t hear many moans and groans they just let you play.

“They remind me of the fans down at Yeovil who let you play, don’t get on the players’ backs and you have that bit more freedom.”