Simon Grayson can't fault Fleetwood Town's fighting spirit

Having been appointed at the end of January, Grayson’s first seven matches at the helm brought two wins, three draws and two defeats.

Though the players are still getting used to what Grayson wants, he feels their effort cannot be questioned.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's victory at Lincoln City Grayson said: “As a manager after a game, the first thing you think is have they given everything on the pitch?

“Have they gone for it or have they gone through the motions?

“They’ve certainly been fighting, scrapping, running, without a shadow of a doubt.

“In every game we’ve been involved in, the players have given everything. That’s another good characteristic to have.

“You can never have a bad game without the ball because you can just run around – but you can have a bad game with it.

“If you do the first part right, you’ve got a chance of getting the second part right.”

A man with plenty of experience in League One, Grayson knows nothing can be taken for granted but admits the relentless fixture list is challenging.

“Regardless of if you’re playing against teams in the top six or the bottom six, they’re always good games,” he said.

“You can never think, ‘Oh that’s going to be an easy game.’ And naturally, when you play the top-six teams, they’re the top six for a reason.

“It’s been a tough run for us over the last three or four games.”

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