Fleetwood Town midfielder is happy to be up and running

The midfielder opened the scoring just four minutes into last weekend’s thumping 5-1 Highbury win over Plymouth Argyle – his first Town goal in his eighth appearance for the club.

The 28-year-old’s strike gave Town the positive start they were looking for – it was 2-0 after seven minutes – and Joey Barton’s men aim to be out of the blocks just as quickly at home to Sunderland this evening, when victory would lift Fleetwood into the League One play-off zone and possibly as high as fourth.

Former Accrington Stanley and AFC Fylde favourite Finley said of his goal: “It would have been a sweet finish if it hadn’t taken the three deflections but I’ll take them any way I can.

“So it’s nice for me to get the goal and give them a little bit of stick back, but I’ll take them any way they come and I’m made up.”

Most important for Finley, Town executed their gameplan perfectly.

“I thought that, in the first 10 minutes, we set the tone and the intensity from all the lads was brilliant,” he said.

“They had a long way to travel and that was crucial for us. We tried to run all over them in the first 10 minutes and that’s exactly what we did.

“They substituted a midfielder after 10, so it looked like I was doing something right and we kicked on from there with a great team performance.

“Starting on the front foot was a key factor for us. Don’t give them time or space on the ball in the early stages and I thought we did that.”

Last weekend’s goalscoring headlines were grabbed by Callum Camps, who netted twice for the second successive game to advance to 10 for the season.

Finley revealed his fellow midfielder was disappointed afterwards.

“We could have had more and I thought Campsy should have had a hat-trick,” he added.

“He’s leading goalscorer now and he should have more. He knows that and he’s disappointed with himself.

“He’s quality with those goals from midfield and I think he can only get better and better.”

Finley, however, is well aware it is a team game and says the squad must not get carried away after winning five of their last six League One fixtures.

“We have to keep our feet on the ground,” he added. “The gaffer wrote on the board on Saturday that it’s just another three points.

“A promotion side just has to keep grounded, and grinding out the wins and the results you need. You must not get too ahead of yourself.”

Some clubs will be able to welcome back supporters next week and Finley can’t wait for Fleetwood’s turn. “I’m looking forward to the fans coming back,” he said.

“Hopefully we will be still on a good run, and with the fanbase back, it will be a great place to play football.”

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, there is a Black Friday offer on digital subscriptions until December 4. Try us today by clicking here