Pressley eyes vital derby day victory

Three points will see Steven Pressley's 19th-placed men move five points clear of the Seasiders and the drop zone.
Fleetwood Town boss Steven PressleyFleetwood Town boss Steven Pressley
Fleetwood Town boss Steven Pressley

Three points from the sell-out clash will see Steven Pressley’s 19th-placed men move five points clear of the Seasiders and the drop zone.

But defeat will see Neil McDonald’s men leapfrog Town in the table and Pressley is determined to ensure his side’s fate is still in their own hands come 5pm on Saturday.

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He said: “I don’t think it takes the manager to inform the players of how important this game is, if players cannot see that then we have a problem.

“I’m not so sure that the tactical elements will be the most important aspect on Saturday.

“I believe that the will to win, the mentality and being clinical in both boxes will decide the game.

“The draw is the better result for Fleetwood but we want to win as we can take a giant step towards survival by winning.”

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Pressley says he has a degree of sympathy for his opposite number McDonald.

McDonald has spent the season fighting a relegation battle as well as contending with issues between owners the Oyston family and the fans.

And Pressley says he is anticipating a great game at a near sell-out Highbury.

He said: “I’ve never really concerned myself with Blackpool. I’ve only concerned myself with this football club.

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“They have a very experienced man in charge there who knows the game very well.

“I’ve watched quite a lot of their footage they are a very well organised team but a team that we will certainly not fear.

“Throughout football I think that when there is not, I suppose, the energy between the supporters and those at the top it is a regular occurrence that the club does tend to spiral downwards.

“I think that that is normal. I think that it is a really important aspect within a football club – the relationship between supporters and the board members.

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“And unfortunately for Blackpool that isn’t strong at this moment in time.

“That will go out of the window this weekend, that is one thing for sure, the players that cross that white line on Saturday will have no other thoughts than winning that game so it is going to be a great game of football.

“I have a degree of sympathy for McDonald of course.

“I was at a club not long ago that had a similar situation.

“I’m a football man, I respect other football people, It is such a difficult game and the amount of challenges that a manager has and the situations he has to face and generally he does not need other distractions.

“I think that Neil has managed the situation very well and I think he deserves great credit for bringing a degree of equilibrium to the club.”