Fleetwood Town skipper won't be distracted by the League One table

United travel to Highbury in League One after a difficult start to the season which sees them second-bottom of the table.

It’s a far cry from last season when they finished fourth in the table and were one of the division’s top scorers.

Coutts believes his side are ready for the test they will pose.

He said: “They’re obviously a good side, we saw that last year with the season they had.

“They will be a tough test and their form will pick up, and they’ll be there or thereabouts again I’d imagine.

“They’re well coached, they play good football, it’ll be a tough test, but we’re prepared for it.”

The Town skipper doesn’t think any side can really be judged just yet and maintains it will take longer than usual to establish the lay of the land.

The curtailment of last season, except for those sides featuring in the play-offs, as well as the stop-start nature of this campaign, means teams’ preparation has been unique.

Coutts, however, thinks that confidence is starting to grow within the camp on the Fylde coast.

He said:“It’s been quite tough to gauge with the scattered pre-season, the short break, or the really long break for some.

“It’s hard to gauge where everyone is at, at the start.

“I think it’s going to take longer than the 10 games you usually go off to see where people are at.

“I think we’ve done alright, we’ve had some decent performances and we’re just getting into a rhythm now.

“Clean sheets are coming and that breeds confidence throughout.”

With the heavily congested fixture schedule, even the club captain is not immune from being left out for a rest.

The 32-year-old was restored to the side in midweek and named as man of the match by head coach Joey Barton.

While he doesn’t like to miss out on games, Coutts admits he has to trust in the staff.

“We’ve got a big squad and a good squad, everyone is going to need resting and freshening up and rotating,” he said.

“It’s going to happen a lot more this season.

“As long as the team is doing well and we carry on the good form, I’ve got no problems.

“You want to play every game but especially when you get to my age, the sports science and all the things that go into it probably know best.

“You’ve just got to try and perform well when you’ve got the chance and you keep giving him a selection problem.”

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