Fleetwood boss Stephen Crainey says: Play like we did at Sunderland and Town will stay up

Ellis Harrison opened the scoring for the visitors but three second-half goals, and Zak Jules' late sending off, left Crainey “gutted” for his players after defeat at the Stadium of Light.

Former Blackpool loanee Elliot Embleton equalised 10 minutes after the restart before Luke O’Nien and Jack Clarke struck late on to condemn the relegation-threatened Cod Army to a third successive defeat

Fleetwood are just a point clear of danger after their painful wait for a win stretched to 10 games.

“If we keep performing like that then we are going to be absolutely fine, I’ve got no doubt about that,” stressed Crainey.

“We’ve got a top group of young players and a top group of senior players.

“I said to the group in the dressing that I’m absolutely gutted for them.

“I thought on the night we were outstanding. I know we lost the game 3-1 but it’s not a reflection of the game at all for me.

“I don’t know how many interviews I’ve said it in but we’ve got a top group of young players here at the club. I have complete trust in the young players here.

“They showcased their talents against a good Sunderland side, who will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

“As a collective it was a really good performance but we’re really disappointed not to get anything out of the game.”

The gap between Town and the bottom four is just a single point after Morecambe left Bolton Wanderers with a draw but Crainey believes his side are missing the element of luck.

“We’ve got no rub of the green right now,” admitted Crainey. “We’re not making excuses, we’re losing games of football and we need to start winning games of football.

“The character in the dressing room is big and that will see us all right in the end.

“I thought we were comfortable in the lead up to Sunderland’s first goal.

“I thought we had a blatant foul with a push on Callum Johnson, which we didn’t get.”

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