Blackpool boss Simon Grayson is dismayed by the second-half scenes against Fleetwood Town

Blackpool manager Simon GraysonBlackpool manager Simon Grayson
Blackpool manager Simon Grayson

Saturday’s game was temporarily halted during the second half after supporters ran onto the pitch following Blackpool’s third goal of the game.

Trouble ensued in the South West corner after two supporters confronted a Fleetwood fan that had invaded the pitch and evaded a number of stewards.

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While the game eventually restarted, a total of nine minutes of stoppage time were added on after the 90 minutes were up.

It is the second time in as many seasons that disorder has blighted this fixture, with dozens of Blackpool fans running onto the pitch back in April to celebrate their stoppage-time winner.

“I get people are angry towards the opposition supporters but it’s not something you want to see,” Grayson told The Gazette.

“If anything it probably hindered us a little bit as the stoppage in time allowed them to gather their thoughts and change what they were going to do.

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“It’s happened, you don’t like to see stuff like that from both sets of supporters.

“But we’d like to see none of those scenes if possible in future.

“Aside from that it was a great atmosphere, but you expected that.

“They brought a few and we certainly had plenty of noise from the home supporters.

“They’ll all go home very happy.”

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Blackpool’s 3-1 victory came after Fleetwood boss Joey Barton made a series of provocative comments in the build-up to the game.

The Town boss claimed the Seasiders aren’t a big club, declaring his side a better team with better players.

Barton also predicted Pool’s starting line-up prior to the encounter, a guess that turned out to be incorrect as Grayson sprang a surprise by making two changes and reverting to a back four.

“I decided on my team on Monday or Tuesday, so I knew exactly what I was doing and I knew he wouldn’t get the team right,” the Pool boss added.

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“I said to him jokingly before the game, ‘you didn’t get the team right’.

“I knew what team I was playing all week because I felt there needed to be no grey areas.”

When asked if Barton’s pre-match comments had any bearing on the result, Grayson added: “It didn’t give me any extra motivation. Did it give the players any? I heard one or two of them saying this, that and the other.

“Joey has said things because he’s tried to stoke things up and I’ve got no issues with that whatsoever. I said that to him on the touchline.

“He does what he needs to do. Everyone has got different types of temperaments, attitudes and philosophies on the game.

“Ultimately what mattered was getting the three points and we did.”