Blackpool boss shares reason for sticking with Birmingham City loanee despite struggles
Bailey Peacock-Farrell has struggled at the start of his time with Blackpool.
Steve Bruce states it’s important that Blackpool get behind Bailey Peacock-Farrell following his tough start to life at Bloomfield Road.
The goalkeeper joined the Seasiders on loan from Birmingham City last month after finding game time hard to come by in his singular season at St Andrew’s.
After linking up with the Blues last summer, the Northern Ireland international only managed 16 appearances for Chris Davies’ side in all competitions, with Ryan Allsop being the League One champion’s preferred option.
The Blackpool shot stopper has represented his fair share of clubs throughout his career so far, with the likes of Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield Wednesday all featuring on the 28-year-old’s CV.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for Peacock-Farrell, with his first few games for the Seasiders proving to be another bump in the road after conceding eight goals in his first three outings in all competitions.
Despite his tricky start to life against Stevenage and Exeter City in League One, Bruce opted to stick with the Birmingham loanee for Tuesday night’s EFL Cup tie against Port Vale - which ended in a 1-0 defeat.
“He’s made a mistake in the first game, and he’s conceded three and four, so the goalkeeper is the fall guy,” the Blackpool boss said.
“We’ve got to get behind him and encourage him. We know he’s a talented goalkeeper, and that’ll be the case.
“We’ve got to breed a bit of confidence into him, and he needs games - he hasn’t played for a long time so that comes into it.”
Past words on goalkeeper dilemma
Following Peacock-Farrell’s tricky debut against Stevenage earlier this month, Bruce was asked what extent of mistake would lead to a switch of keeper with fellow summer arrival Franco Ravizzoli waiting for his opportunity.
“It’s a great question - how long do you put up with it?,” he said.
“He’s a great player Bailey, and he’s made the wrong choice, making a bad pass with his wrong foot. He knows it, we all know it - it’s a genuine mistake.
“He’s an experienced player who held his hands up straightaway, just like the other boys did too.
“It’s up to the manager to decide how many mistakes they can make. Harry Tyrer made a few early on in his career with us.
“We don’t want it to keep happening so we’ll see.”
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