Hitman Ball aims to keep Fleetwood's fantastic journey going

Ball netted his 11th of the campaign with a sensational last-minute curler to seal a 1-1 draw with play-off rivals Southend last weekend and maintain Town’s grip on fourth spot.

The 26-year-old is in fine form, having hit double figures for the first time since 2013-14. And although Ball is yet to agree a new deal to extend his current contract past the summer, he says he is enjoying his football and hailed the current crop of players.

The striker said: “We are on a nice journey at the moment that we need to keep going. It is a special group, certainly one that I have enjoyed playing with. The staff and everyone involved have been fantastic up to now.

“But we need to keep our standards high and keep doing everything we are doing away from the pitch to give us that extra chance.”

Ball says the character of Uwe Rosler’s squad showed as they reached 50 points on Saturday – just one behind last season’s total.

The striker, who was part of the side that avoided relegation on the final day last May, says Rosler’s attacking philosophy shows their intent this term.

He said: “I think we made a statement going to the league leaders (Sheffield United) and winning last week.

“I think Southend came to do a job on us on Saturday. Maybe they did that in the first half, but with the character we have in the dressing room we carried on and got the point. We didn’t just stop and be happy with the draw – we carried on and credit to the lads we could have won it.

“We don’t sit back. Fair play to the gaffer, he always wants us to go on and score as many goals as we can. That just shows our intent. We want to win games and stay unbeaten.”