Fleetwood Town midfielder knows he still has more to offer

Head coach Simon Grayson hailed his 20-year-old midfielder as the best player on the pitch after the recent defeat by Burton Albion and the Town academy product is establishing himself as a regular starter.

Matete said such encouraging words mean a lot from someone of Grayson’s experience.

He told The Gazette: “The gaffer has been in the game a long time, and I try to soak up what I hear and take it out onto the pitch.

“I’ve been on a decent run of form recently and now I want to keep my place in the team. I want the gaffer to keep on trusting me.

“One hundred per cent there’s more to come from me. I’m young, I’m learning and I have more to offer.”

Ahead of this afternoon’s home clash with Wycombe Wanderers, Grayson said of Matete: “He has really impressed me since pre-season. He went to Grimsby last season and I didn’t see a lot of him until pre-season, when he really caught my eye.

“He played some games at the start of the season, but when you are trying to find a winning formula, a young player will sometimes find himself going out of the team.

“Jay worked extra hard in training, and in the last few games, he has shown everyone what a really good player he is.

“He uses the ball well in tight situations, he likes to tackle and he is only 20. If he keeps developing and eradicating the small mistakes there’s only one way he’ll go in future.”

Matete himself believes Town are close to turning the corner.

He added: “It’s been a tricky start with a lot of tough games but along the way I think we’ve played some good stuff.

“ We just need to start winning more games now. We think that, as a team, we’re so close to winning games.

“Sometimes that bit of inexperience has meant we’ve fallen short.”

Town have given opportunities to plenty of inexperienced players this season, not least because of injuries.

Grayson said: “You have disappointments as a young player. You start a few games, then you may come out of the team and go out on loan. Life is about how you deal with the setbacks.

“Jay is a player I’m really enjoying working with and is one of the many who have taken on board what we are trying to do.

“We try to help them as individuals and collectively as a club going forward.

“You don’t bring young players in for the sake of it, but if they are ready, it’s up to them to grab an opportunity.”

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