‘It could have been 5-1’: Furious Slaven Bilic slams his Watford side after Blackpool defeat

Jerry Yates bagged two high quality goals in the final 10 minutes to earn Blackpool their first win in five.

It was a thoroughly deserved victory for Michael Appleton’s side as well, as they showed guts, heart and desire to stay in the game during a difficult first-half.

But in the second period they were by far the better side and finally got their rewards late on through the sublime Yates.

Gary Madine had previously given Blackpool an early lead after just 10 minutes with a cute lob, an opener that was cancelled out by Imran Louza’s sublime free-kick.

But Bilic had no complaints with the result and pulled no punches with his verdict after the final whistle.

“We got what we deserved today, absolutely,” Bilic told the Watford Observer. “If it wasn’t for our keeper it could have been 5-1.

“They wanted it more than us. They were competitive, aggressive, especially in the second-half.

“I’m very disappointed. It’s about time we picked ourselves up and started working as a team.

“I see quality on paper in our squad but not on the pitch, and certainly not consistently. I don’t see a group of players determined to win every game and willing to give everything.

“We have to find that, right now. If we think we are going to win games because we have a good squad on paper, then we’re wrong.

“It starts from now, with all of us, including me. If we start pointing fingers at each other and trying to find excuses, then let’s all give up and go home. That is all too common in modern football.

“But if we very quickly realise that we have to give everything for each other in every minute of every game, then we might be able to start moving forwards.

“We’ve just had a long meeting in the dressing room and there will be more time during the week to discuss this and we need to.”