Fleetwood Town loanee eyeing a permanent stay?

The striker joined on a temporary basis earlier in the year from Rotherham United where his contract is set to expire this summer.

Vassell has been an important player since arriving in January, netting the winner in Town’s victory against Gillingham on Tuesday.

Following on from his effort against Shrewsbury Town seven days ago, that made it goals in back-to-back games ahead of this afternoon’s match with former club Blackpool.

The 28-year-old (right) acknowledged he is playing for a possible future with Town, having had chances to join the club previously.

He explained: “I came here because I saw a future, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.

“Even under the previous manager, I could have come here and signed a few times.

“It just wasn’t right having two well known strikers through the door playing in a 4-3-3 as they did. It just wasn’t right for me.

“At that time I was at Rotherham and still playing.

“I wanted to come on loan, somewhere that, if I did well and impressed, I could stay.”

It wasn’t just scoring from the spot that caught the eye in the week, with Vassell’s industrious display up top setting the tone for the Cod Army’s battling display.

The togetherness in the squad is currently playing a big part in their performances according to Vassell, who ranked Tuesday’s game as one of his best since arriving back on the Fylde coast.

He said: “My Doncaster Rovers performance was probably my other really good performance but they were completely different.

“The Doncaster one, I was on the ball a lot more and I probably showed that side of my game – the hold up play and the link up play – but on Tuesday I showed my physicality.

“I showed how much I would fight and graft for the boys. They’re probably equal performances in my opinion.

“If James Hill is putting his body on the line and getting cut open, Callum Connolly and Harrison Holgate are getting trodden on, the wing-backs are bombing up and down, and the boys in the middle of the park are securing it, I can’t not run myself into the ground.

“They’re doing the same thing, they’re fighting. That’s a team, that’s what a team does.

“I know I’m on loan here but as I’ve said, I wanted to come somewhere that I could be more than a loan player.

“I’m just doing my part. All the boys were the same, they did it in their own ways. It’s just what you do in the team.”

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