Michael Appleton set for family battle at Fleetwood with Salop chief wary of ‘all or nothing’ Cod Army

The clash at against the Cod Army will see the Town chief go up against his son, Lewis, who is part of Pete Wild’s backroom team at Highbury, where he has served as a first team analyst in recent years.

And it won’t be the first time the two have gone up against each other.

During his coaching career, Appleton has been in the unique position of going up against his son on two occasions – and so far it has been Appleton senior who has emerged with the better record.

He is keen to continue that – and joked that their may not be too many words exchanged after the game if Salop don’t come out on top.

Appleton said: “We spoke on Sunday. We asked each other how the games went etc. We clearly know because we watch each other’s games.

“We spoke Sunday and to be fair, it’s one of those situations where I would never want to put him in an uncomfortable position. 

“He’s got a job to do, I’ve got a job to do. We’ll speak on Saturday night after the game or maybe we won’t if they win, maybe I’ll just ignore him. It’s happened a couple of times already. 

“He’s doing his bit, he’s doing really well. I’m obviously very proud of what he’s doing and getting up to.”

Of the two sides this season – it is Fleetwood who have enjoyed a better start to the campaign with Wild’s outfit sitting 13th in League Two after 16 games.

Wild has assembled an attack minded side – boasting the likes of striker Will Graydon, who has netted six times this season, in a front two alongside experienced EFL striker Ched Evans.

Appleton insists the way the Cod Army set up is a ‘throwback’ – and has praised Wild for developing ‘all or nothing’ style with his side.

“They’re a good side, a little bit of a throwback in terms of how their attitude towards the game,” explained the Salop boss.

“It’s a little bit all or nothing, which I do like and admire. 

Salop are looking to back up a win over Newport County (AMA)

“They tend to play with two strikers. They’ve obviously been playing predominantly with three at the minute but they trust their strikers so they get the ball into their strikers early and consistently. 

“They’re a proper handful. So, if you’ve got that and you’ve got that in your armoury, why wouldn’t you use it? And they’ve got some good young players in the team. 

“They go for it and they want to win games of football. They’re not there to win a game 1-0 or draw a game. It’s all out trying to win and I love that attitude.

“So, it’s going to be a difficult game. They’ve got a really, really good record at home.

“It’s going to be a tough fixture against quite a youthful side. But like I say, we’re going into the game with pretty good confidence as well. So, hopefully that’ll be part of us getting a victory.”