Simon Grayson settles into life at Fleetwood after manic Monday

Simon Grayson is getting back into a daily routine on the training ground after a manic start to life at Fleetwood Town.
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Simon Grayson determined to earn longer Fleetwood Town contract

Grayson’s first task as head coach was to negotiate transfer deadline day.

Town were keen to make a couple of signings, though as it turned out their business started and ended with the acquisition of Daniel Batty from Hull City.

Simon Grayson overseeing his first Fleetwood Town training session on TuesdaySimon Grayson overseeing his first Fleetwood Town training session on Tuesday
Simon Grayson overseeing his first Fleetwood Town training session on Tuesday
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Grayson worked alongside the club’s recruitment team and had no hesitation in bringing in the 23-year-old.

He said: “In an ideal world maybe the window would have been shut and I wouldn’t have had to walk into the turmoil of a transfer deadline day.

“Our football club had taken Kyle Vassell and Janoi Donacien in already, so we’d got two players in.

“Daniel Batty was a player I really liked and I spoke to a few agents on Sunday and Monday about him, so once we got the opportunity to bring him in I certainly wanted to do that.

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“As I knew he was on our radar, I was ready to push the button on that. I’m delighted that we’ve got him.”

It was a bit of a balancing act for the Cod Army, weighing up bids coming in and trying to make their own moves. Charlton Athletic made multiple attempts to take Josh Morris from Highbury but Town stood firm.

On top of financial restraints, EFL clubs are aware they can name only five loan players in any matchday squad, though they can have more in their squad as a whole.

Grayson said: “It was a day where we were spinning a lot of plates, like a lot of football clubs.

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“It was a day where we were looking to bring another couple of players in, then maybe some wouldn’t have stayed.

“But the position that we had ourselves in was that we had five loans already on the books, and to get a permanent deal in on Monday was always going to be difficult in terms of time to be able to do it.

“I’m pleased with the squad. When you speak to people about this football club – even before I came here and I looked at it myself – they say there is a really talented group of players here who have just lost their way a little bit for whatever reason.

“It’s now down to us as staff to kick one or two of them on, revitalise them and start winning football matches.

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“If I’d walked in and the club had said, ‘This is what you’ve got to work with between now and the end of the season’, then I’d have said I’m happy with that group of players, without a shadow of a doubt.”

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