Bowyer: Seasiders must stand up and be County-ed

Gary Bowyer knows his players will be in for a tough battle when they travel to face an experienced Notts County side.
Blackpool were 4-0 winners when they met Notts County at Bloomfield Road in DecemberBlackpool were 4-0 winners when they met Notts County at Bloomfield Road in December
Blackpool were 4-0 winners when they met Notts County at Bloomfield Road in December

When Kevin Nolan first arrived at Meadow Lane in January, the club were only one point above the relegation zone but the former Premier League star has since steered them to safety.

So Bowyer knows his men are in for a real challenge and says his players must be on top of their game if they’re going to pick up what would be a vital three points.

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“We know exactly what we’re in for. It will be a battle and a tough game,” he said.

“They’ve got two very experienced centre-forwards who know the game inside out in Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi.

“But what I would say is our two centre-halves – if we play two centre-halves – in Tom (Aldred) and Clark (Robertson), they have been outstanding this season.

“And when we’ve played three centre-halves we’ve looked really comfortable, especially away from home. So we feel as though we’ve got people there who can have a good game against them and enjoy the test.

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“So we know what we’re up against and we’ve just got to deliver now. We’ve got to match the energy and determination of Notts County and try and impose ourselves on the game and show the quality we have.”

The Seasiders could clinch a play-off spot today but the likelihood is it will go down to the last game of the season next week, where Bowyer’s men play bottom-of-the-table and already relegated Leyton Orient.

But Bowyer warned his players they can only concentrate on today’s task, adding: “We can’t look ahead to the Leyton Orient game. It’s one game at a time and we’ve got to concentrate on Notts County.

“We won’t be looking at 5pm either. Right now we’re concentrating on training and how we go about it and then the build up to the game.

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“We can only tick off the games as they go and concentrate on what we can do and how we can affect the game.

“But I think playing away from home sometimes suits us rather than teams coming to Bloomfield Road and just sitting in. So we want to go and play an open game of football, as we did at Carlisle, Doncaster and Plymouth.

“But this is going to be a different type of game and we’ve got to be ready for that.”