Pressley: Best to come from Fleetwood loan stars

Steven Pressley insists Fleetwood fans will see more from loan duo David Henen and Tariqe Fosu after the pair made lively debuts at Peterborough.
David HenenDavid Henen
David Henen

Everton forward Henen hit the bar at London Road, while Reading winger Fosu set up a goal for David Ball with practically his first touch of the game.

After back-to-back away games in League One, Fleetwood are preparing for a Highbury double-header against Swindon and Millwall before travelling to Bloomfield Road a week on Saturday to contest the tramway derby.

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And Pressley is hoping his loan rangers can play a major role in turning Town’s campaign around.

Henen started at London Road and could have given Fleetwood the lead, losing out having gone one-on-one with Ben Alnwick in the early exchanges.

Pressley said: “David had a great chance early on but the ball just got away from him at the vital moment.

“They are the moments that change games but I thought he gave a very good account of himself.

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“I think we can use him better. We will do when we get more used to his movements.

“He’s an exciting player who can give us the speed I’ve been talking about. He’s a really exciting addition.”

Fosu looked an equally exciting addition for Town when he came on as a second-half substitute.

Pressley continued: “Tariqe is somebody we are delighted to bring on board, and in the 20 minutes we’ve seen he’s shown something of the ability he possesses.

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“I decided to allow him to bed in in a different manner to David.

“But he came on and everybody was excited by the 20 minutes he gave.”

Fleetwood started the season refusing to turn to the loan market.

Instead they insisted they would make use of their own young talent.

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That strategy changed radically following the departure of manager Graham Alexander, Fleetwood scrambling to make up for a poor summer recruitment campaign.

The gap at centre-half was quickly plugged with Stoke’s Dionotan Teixeira, with young Leicester defender Joe Davis also arriving.

New manager Pressley quickly identified a lack of pace as a major issue, one which he’s now corrected with last week’s double loan swoop.

And the former Scotland international insists that despite results not yet picking up, Town’s turnaround is well under way.

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He added: “It’s the frustration that we’re not far off being a good side.

“I’ve said to the players I think we’re a good team but we just need to believe in ourselves more.

“I think we have to turn these performances into victories but the pleasing aspect is that we’re taking strides forward.

“We should take a lot of confidence from the second half on Saturday.”

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Now Pressley wants to see his side boost their confidence with wins and start to put together 90-minute performances.

“There was a great feeling in the dressing room after Sheffield United. There was disappointment on Saturday,” he said..

“Disappointment because the players realise that what we showed in the second half is what we can be.

“We didn’t manage to produce that performance over 90 minutes.”