Fleetwood will show true quality after reality check says Eastham

Don’t miss the latest football news and gossip from leagues in England, Scotland and Europe with footballwire.co.ukAsh Eastham says Fleetwood’s players are not in denial over their league position and are the right crop to dig Town out of trouble.

Saturday’s postponement at Rochdale left Town 17th in League One and three points clear of the drop zone, though with two games in hand on 21st-placed Oldham.

Eastham has backed Town to end their five-match losing run but says they need to get back to basics when they host high-flying Shrewsbury tomorrow.

The defender said: “It is important to look ahead but you cannot live in denial. That is something we talked about last week.

“We have been on a poor run and we have got to accept responsibility, recognise where we have been going wrong and get back to the things we were doing before.

“We have a great togetherness in that changing room. The liveliness in training has been there and it looks like a squad really looking forward to a game. We’ve got more than enough characters in there to dig us out of this sticky patch.”

Town have not won in the league at Highbury since October and Eastham says they need the fans to help them turn their home form around.

He added: “We need everyone at this moment to get the momentum back.”

Town’s clash with the promotion-chasing Shrews is the first of four in 12 days and Eastham says it is an important run of games.

He said: “We play a few of the teams in and around us and a positive result can really kick-start a run.

“I don’t think it matters who you play because at this stage everyone plays for something – teams are looking up or over their shoulder.

“ Anyone can beat anyone. It is about momentum and confidence, and as soon as we get that back I’m sure we can string some positive performances together.”