Fleetwood Town new boy has been able to hit the ground running

The defender joined the club this summer on a free transfer from Salford City, whom he had helped to Wembley success in the Papa John’s Trophy.

The 33-year-old already knew a few of his team-mates before making the move to Highbury.

He had also worked with head coach Simon Grayson at Huddersfield Town and Preston North End, winning promotion from League One with both sides.

“It’s been really good, they’re a great set of lads,” Clarke told the Gazette.

“I obviously know the manager as well, it’s been really easy to settle in which has been good.

“It means you can get straight into training and then it’s easier when you get into the games as well.

“It helps when you know people. It’s massive to get integrated with the lads really quickly.

“The season starts quite quickly as well, so it’s good to get in there and get used to how the lads want to play and what the manager wants.”

Town are unbeaten so far in their pre-season friendlies, having come from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Rochdale last weekend.

Clarke doesn’t attach too much importance to the results of warm-up games but admits that getting used to winning is good for the team.

He said: “Winning is a habit we want to get into.

“We want to get good results throughout pre-season but the main thing is people coming through OK and getting their fitness in.

“I know the league really well. I’m looking forward to playing some big teams in this league.

“It’s going to be tough but we’ve got a good team and we can do well.”

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