CHRIS HUMPHREY believes that it was only a matter of time before Simon Grayson started making progress at his new club Fleetwood Town.

The Kendal Town boss played under Grayson whilst at Preston North End and has been full of praise for the 51-year-old since he moved to the Lancashire side.

Humphrey said: “Well, I thought it was a fantastic appointment on their behalf and I am not just saying that because I am close to Simon, - I am saying that having played under him. He is a top quality manager off the pitch as well as on the pitch so I am not surprised that they have finally got it together and picking up good results. When he went in it was always going to be tough taking over from the previous manager as players have to understand your philosophy and your way of playing He will have had to use his man-management skills picking players up after the last manager left and these are all good things that I have learned immensely off him, so it is no surprise that he is finally doing well.”

Grayson is currently on a three-match winning streak after enduring a shaky start to his tenure at Highbury Stadium. Having joined the League One club in late January, he has managed nine games so far and picked up four wins. The Fleetwood boss had temporarily stood in for Humphrey in the Kendal dugout whilst he was self-isolating and oversaw a 2-2 draw against Mossley.

Humphrey revealed he has occasionally looked to Grayson for guidance and will be adapting his tactics during The Mintcakes’ next season. He said: “Simon is so good at picking up results away from home. He has his formation that he is set with that I loved playing with and I hope that at Kendal next season we can adapt his 3-5-2. Having played under it and learned a lot about that formation under Simon, I think we can definitely use it. This is why I think he has got four promotions out of League One. If you can win games away from home as well pick up points at home then you always have a good chance of promotion.”