Blackpool boss Neil Critchley says: Let's put disappointment of Hull behind us

Neil Critchley says his Blackpool players must not dwell on their midweek disappointment and look to use their frustration to turn in a good performance against Blackburn Rovers today.
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READ MORE: How Neil Critchley rates Blackpool's first 10 games in the Championship.

The Seasiders looked to be heading to their fourth win in five games against Hull City on Tuesday night thanks to Shayne Lavery’s superbly-taken first-half strike.

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But the game flipped on its head 10 minutes from time when the struggling Tigers were reduced to 10 men.

Blackpool defender Richard Keogh looks like he can't believe what happened at HullBlackpool defender Richard Keogh looks like he can't believe what happened at Hull
Blackpool defender Richard Keogh looks like he can't believe what happened at Hull

But the dismissal of Lewie Coyle spurred the home side into life and Tom Eaves came off the bench to level matters four minutes from time.

Had Critchley’s men held on for a third straight victory, they would now be sitting in ninth place in the Championship, three points adrift of today’s opponents.

The head coach said: “That can always happen in this league – you just have to look at some of the results in midweek.

“You have to be prepared for anything in the Championship.

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“I can completely spin Tuesday night on its head and say it was a really good performance – 1-1 away from home, we created chances, we should have won the game.

“But I felt angry after the game and I still have a little bit of the same feeling now.

“However, we can’t do anything about it now, it’s gone.

“So we have to learn from it and try to improve, which is what we always try to do.

“We have to try and improve in those moments that could decide a game for you.

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“But we move on. It’s gone and now we have a chance to carry on our decent bit of home form that we’ve had recently, and what a great game to look forward to on Saturday.”

The Seasiders have adapted well to life back in the Championship, sitting four points clear of the relegation zone at the 10-game mark.

Critchley’s side initially got off to a jittery start, but they’ve since made the necessary adjustments and are now enjoying a rich vein of form, having lost just one of their last five games.

“Our performances have improved. If you look at the games over the 90 minutes, there’s lots to be positive about,” Critchley said as Pool look towards a two-week international break after this afternoon’s all-Lancashire clash.

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“The fact we’re disappointed with a point away from home against Hull shows how much we’ve improved and how far we’ve come.

“We drew there last season in the league (when both sides were in League One) and we were happy with a point. Tuesday night, we weren’t happy.

“Hull were obviously top of the league last year and were in a good moment.

“On Tuesday night, they didn’t have that same feeling. You have to capitalise on those moments and we didn’t.

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“We’ll speak about it with the players, but we’ll put the game to bed and we’ll look forward to another game on Saturday.

“We have to remember we’re on a decent run of form, and if we can beat Blackburn on Saturday, then the difference since we went into the last international break (still without a win after a defeat at Millwall at the end of August) will be significant.”

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