Blackpool boss Neil Critchley insists results in pre-season are important

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley stressed the importance of developing a winning mentality during pre-season after yesterday’s 2-1 victory over Barrow.
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The Seasiders made it three wins out of three on their long-awaited return to Bloomfield Road thanks to goals by Jordan Thorniley and Matty Virtue.

While many believe results aren’t the be-all and end-all in such games, Critchley takes a different view and told The Gazette: “I always hear managers and coaches saying results don’t matter in pre-season but I’m not so sure.

Matty Virtue scores Blackpool's winner against BarrowMatty Virtue scores Blackpool's winner against Barrow
Matty Virtue scores Blackpool's winner against Barrow
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“I think every time you take to the pitch you want to breed a certain standard and habits of what is expected in terms of non-negotiables. I think if you do that the results start to take care of themselves a little bit.

“Results do matter and we want to get into the habit of winning games, and we’re doing that now.

“We’ve got some tougher tests to come obviously but it will be a good gauge for us to see where we’re at leading into some of the league and cup games to come.”

After wins against Southport, Port Vale and now Barrow, the Seasiders turn their attention to Saturday’s visit of Everton.

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Thorniley grabbed his first goal for the club with a well-taken header against David Dunn’s Barrow, who equalised courtesy of Dior Angus. But the Seasiders came on strong towards the end and sealed the win thanks to Matty Virtue’s 83rd-minute strike.

Critchley added: “I thought we were excellent for long periods and there was a massive improvement from the first half of Saturday’s game against Port Vale – big, big improvements.

“What we spoke about to the players, I think they put into practice very well – the way we pressed, how we won the ball back. I thought we were exciting.

“The only thing missing was probably the end product and the goals, which we nearly paid the price for.

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“When we’re on top we’ve got to make sure we turn that dominance into goals. I have to say, though, when it was 1-1 we kicked on again, scored and maybe could have got one or two more. Overall I’m really pleased.”