Proctor: Fleetwood ready to shock rivals

Striker Jamie Proctor believes Fleetwood Town can be a surprise package in League One this season thanks to their new attacking style.
Jamie ProctorJamie Proctor
Jamie Proctor

Boss Graham Alexander has allowed his side to play a more expansive game this term.

And Proctor, at 23 one of the elder statesman of the squad, insists they shouldn’t be underestimated, having smashed four past Colchester in their last home game.

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The striker said: “I think people will look at us and know we’re a young squad. We’ve got young players and the development squad is doing well for us, pushing players through.

“But teams might look and see we haven’t got so many well-known players.

“As we’ve shown already, that means nothing if you’ve got the right spirit, the players and the quality, which we have.

“If we put a few results together we can challenge.”

The introduction of Tyler Forbes and Amari’i Bell as wing-backs marks a radical change in Alexander’s approach, the Fleetwood boss having based Town’s defensively frugal play on a narrow diamond system in the past.

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And for Proctor, that extra width helps simplify the task at hand.

“We’ve got the pace out wide. Teams are going to be wary of that,” he said.

“Getting crosses in the box, we know we can do damage.

“I know the ball is going to go wide. I’ve only got one thing on my mind and that’s being in the middle of the goal.

“Last year were a little more narrow. You didn’t know where the cross was going to come from or how we were going to start the attacks.

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“Now we know we want to get it wide, get those crosses in. For strikers it’s a lot easier – we’ve just got to get in those positions.”

Fleetwood face Rochdale tomorrow – a resumption of hostilities with Keith Hill’s Spotland side.

And Proctor is anxious to make up for last weekend’s blank sheet in the defeat at Doncaster.

He said: “We’re at a good stage to look at the positives, look at the negatives and take it from there. We don’t want to lose two in a row. We just want to get back to winning ways.

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“We were high in confidence and playing some good stuff before last week’s game, so to go there and not put in a performance was disappointing.

“We had two good games against Rochdale last year and picked up a good win at their place. They’re always a tough side who play good football.

And the striker, who has two to his name this season, is hoping he can be far more prolific under the new system, having set himself a personal target.

He said: “You want to get to double figures - that’s 10 to start with and you go on from there. Last season I didn’t score enough goals. The performances were there but personally I didn’t do as well as I wanted. As a striker, ultimately, you’re there to score goals.”