Fleetwood boss Sheridan: Talent alone will not save us

While Sheridan has been brought in specifically to keep Town in League One, many of his players signed up for another promotion push at a club that had upset the applecart to finish fourth last term.

Sheridan, who orchestrated Oldham’s great escape from the drop last term, has a fully-fit squad at his disposal but says it is not just about technical ability now – it is about digging deep.

After Saturday’s trip to Oxford was postponed, Sheridan now has extra time to prepare for next weekend’s clash with Plymouth Argyle, another club he steered away from the drop.

The new Town boss said: “I think there is quality in the squad but when you are down there you might have to do other things in different ways – fight and scrap.

“I know we have some good footballers, technically very good, but it is not just about having that – it is about knowing where we are, the situation we are in and digging deep to get out of it.”

As he finishes his first full week in the role, Sheridan says he has seen in his squad the ingredients to beat the drop and the desire to do so.

He also believes that if Town continue to show the fight that saw them battle back from a goal down to draw with MK Dons in his first game at the helm, then they will win more of their final 12 matches than they lose.

Sheridan said: “There was a desire there not to lose the game and a desire to get something out of it.

“I think we should have ended up with three points, but after going a goal down they could have gone the other way.

“I’ve been a player myself fighting relegation and when you are down there it is difficult.

“But I think we showed in the performance that we have got good things about us, and if we show that we have a chance of winning more games than we lose.”