Stephen Crainey coy on hopes for full-time Fleetwood job

Posted Sunday, November 28, 2021 by PA

Interim manager Stephen Crainey declined to comment on whether he would like the Fleetwood job on a permanent basis following a 2-2 draw at AFC Wimbledon.

Crainey guided the Cod Army to only their second point from a possible 21 after Callum Johnson’s 84th-minute header secured a share of the spoils at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

Striker Ged Garner’s seventh goal of the season had earlier given the visitors a first-half lead before Ayoub Assai and Luke McCormick replied for the Dons.

But Crainey was delighted with the determination his new charges demonstrated to level late on.

On whether he would like his promotion from Under-23s coach to become a long-term arrangement, the former Celtic and Scotland left-back said: “I’m quite content with the way things are and the chairman has told me just to carry on day-by-day until I am told otherwise.

“I’m just pleased the lads took on board the instructions I wanted in the game and I will definitely take the character and commitment they showed moving forward. I asked them to give me intensity on and off the ball and they gave me that with a real desire and determination.

“They are disappointed in the changing room not to have won the game but, when you don’t win, you make sure you don’t lose and I thought the lads were outstanding throughout the match. I thought we were comfortable at half-time but, credit to Wimbledon, they put us under pressure and got their two goals.

“I believed we deserved three points let alone one and, after the equaliser, our fitness levels were strong during the 10 minutes of injury time.”

AFC Wimbledon boss Mark Robinson felt the game was dictated by a strong wind and, as such, was disappointed that his team failed to take full advantage in the second half.

“It was a bitty match,” he said. “We never really got going in the first half and the conditions were really tough.

“I would have been more than happy to get in at half-time at 0-0 with the wind against us, but that didn’t happen because we conceded a cheap goal.

“We started the second half brightly, as I knew we would with the conditions in our favour, but the only disappointing thing was, having got ourselves ahead, I expected us to kick on.

“To be fair to them, they came back stronger and got the equaliser, but I didn’t think our attention to detail was good enough all match.

“There was not the same flow to our game that we see normally and we needed to be more patient on the ball and then be bright with it. We didn’t do that well enough during the last 10 minutes of injury time.”