Fleetwood boss Wild has his say on Carlisle United
Pete Wild has insisted Carlisle United’s position at the foot of League Two is “irrelevant” to this weekend’s clash with his Fleetwood Town side.
The manager of Saturday’s hosts says his team cannot afford to treat the Blues any differently to others in the division despite their lowly position.
Carlisle are seven points adrift of safety as they prepare to face a mid-table Fleetwood team in improving form under ex-Barrow boss Wild.
And he said: “What I’m trying to be clear about with everyone in the building over the next few days, and with the fans, is that Carlisle’s league position is completely irrelevant to the situation.
“We have to take the game as important as every game since we’ve been in the building.
“We have to behave in the same way we behave for any other game, because any team on their day can pull a result off.
“Carlisle, with all the players that they’ve brought in, and with the manager and how he likes to play, will change their fortunes.
“We have to make sure we don’t take this game any different to the last few.”
Wild, who was appointed as Charlie Adam’s successor in late December, has guided Fleetwood to three wins in their last five games, including victories in their last two League Two outings against Salford City and MK Dons.
He said his side must adopt a varied approach to get the better of Mike Williamson’s Blues.
“It’s a home game, we need to be the aggressor, we need to be the team on the front foot and we need to impose Fleetwood Town’s way of playing on Carlisle,” he said in a pre-match press conference.
Fleetwood are improving under ex-Barrow boss Wild (Image: PA)
“And [we have to] appreciate they are going to come and try and dominate the ball and play through, and there will be times when we’ll need to be organised and structured, and also times like at Salford when we’ll need to be aggressive and front-footed, and put them under pressure to turn the ball over.
“It’s really important that we are the best version of us, otherwise Carlisle will turn us over.”
Fleetwood defeated MK Dons 2-1 on Tuesday in a game which was a clear clash of styles.
“On Tuesday we had 27 per cent possession but 13 shots at goal,” said Wild. “There is more than one way to skin a cat.
“We knew MK Dons would dominate the ball, so [the message was] don’t play them at their own game when you don’t need to – don’t fall into those traps.
“We were happy for them to have the ball – it’s what we did when we had it.”
Wild, who can call on ex-Carlisle midfielder Harrison Neal on Saturday, is weighing up forward Ryan Graydon’s fitness ahead of the game. He gave Graydon a 30-70 chance of being involved after a knee injury.
Those ruled out for the hosts include Harrison Holgate, David Harrington and Zech Medley.
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