Rosler's ready for Town's toughest home test

Fleetwood boss Uwe Rosler says Southend will be the most difficult home game Town have encountered so far.
Town head coach Uwe RoslerTown head coach Uwe Rosler
Town head coach Uwe Rosler

Fleetwood welcome Phil Brown’s seventh-placed side to Highbury tomorrow on the back of a 2-0 win over league leaders Sheffield United as they made it 11 unbeaten in the league.

Brown’s men are on their own 13-game unbeaten run and head to the Fylde coast gunning for revenge after Rosler’s side beat them 2-0 in the reverse fixture back in August.

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Rosler said: “The games are coming thick and fast the next one is always the most important thing.

“Also when you have a look at the table Southend are coming on the back of a very good run lately.

“I told the players in the first game that that team will be in or around the play-offs and I was right.

“I have big respect for the manager and assistant manager; Brian Horton signed me as a player at Manchester City and they have an enormous amount of experience not only at this level, mainly at Championship level, and they know exactly what it needs to get out of this league.

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“When you see their team they already have the ingredients and the qualities that you need in the Championship; a very physical team, a lot of height, a lot of experience and game knowledge.

“In my opinion it will be the most difficult home game we have had.”

Rosler’s men are a point off reaching 50 points; he says that, when they have reached that target, their next one will be more ambitious.

He said: “I am not afraid that the team, when we reach the 50-point mark, will blow up; with the mentality we have shown we will set ourselves new targets and those new targets will be ambitious.”

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Brown has spoken in the press of not knowing what to prepare for with Rosler rotating Wes Burns, Devante Cole, David Ball and Ash Hunter in Town’s last two games.

Rosler is happy with all four of them as Chris Long returns to parent club Burnley.

He said: “At the beginning of the season I had six strikers where Aaron Amadi-Holloway probably missed a lot through injuries.

“I had five strikers until Wednesday where Chris Long came to me and asked to return to Burnley.

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“I said ‘I’m not standing in your way.’ We would have kept him, but it was clearly his wish to have more starting time.

“We have now four strikers, all in form, all working very hard. We have a lot of energy up front and to have that energy in the second half of the season is vital.

“When you are hitting March and April, when the prizes are being given out, a lot of teams are fatigued; a lot of teams have not rotated throughout the season enough and find it hard to keep it going.”