Grimes looks ahead to Fleetwood trip

Jamie Grimes spoke to the media ahead of the today’s penultimate game of 2024, which comes in the form of a trip to the west coast to face 18th-placed Fleetwood Town at Highbury Stadium.

He said: “Fleetwood is going to be a tough one but we’re going there full of confidence… Every game in League Two away from home is tough and now it’s even tougher when you [Fleetwood] lose a manager.

“They always say ‘don’t play a team after they’ve just sacked their manager’ because they normally win it because they’re on fire, the fans are behind them and it’s all positive energy which would’ve been negative energy.”

This season, Fleetwood have come off the back of relegation from League One after ten seasons in the third tier.

“Same as a lot of clubs at this level, everyone’s hungry to get to the next level and this league seems to give you a lot more opportunities than the National League,” said Grimes.

“I don’t think we were in particularly good form and then we’ve won three on the bounce and we’re two points off automatic promotion.”

The biggest challenge the squad is currently facing is an injury crisis to key players, particularly in defensive positions.

Grimes said: “It’s the story of the season… Tyrone [Williams] was on fire, playing really well and then popped his shoulder out. Sometimes you have seasons like that.

“The whole idea is having a squad so that everyone gets used and it is an opportunity for those lads who haven’t played as many games, me included, to prove ourselves.”