Blackpool boss Neil Critchley wary of football's new normal without crowds

READ MORE: Critchley takes pride in progress of young Liverpool players.

The Seasiders were hoping Lancashire would be moved from Covid-19 tier three yesterday only for the government to confirm the county will remain in the highest level of restrictions until the New Year.

Had the region been moved to tier two, Blackpool could have hosted 2,000 supporters for the Boxing Day clash against Rochdale, but that will not be the case.

Critchley told The Gazette: “It’s unfortunate. You build your hopes up a little bit, and you dream about and picture the fans coming back. A week or so ago you’re thinking, ‘Oh, what happens if we do get fans back in against Rochdale?’ That would be brilliant given the form we’re in.

“It was all the staff were talking about after the Hull game on Tuesday night. To score like that late on, I’m sure the fans would only just have been sitting back down in the North Stand – they would have been going bananas in there. It would have been bouncing.

“I’m sure the 2,000 against Rochdale would have felt like 20,000. They would have made plenty of noise and been right behind us, so it’s disappointing news.

“When you see some of the highlights on the television, you see supporters in some of the stands and it actually feels a little bit unusual.

“The norm is almost seeing every stand empty and that’s very, very dangerous, I think. We have to keep reminding ourselves how important the supporters are to the game and we want our supporters back as soon as possible.”

Aside from a successful pilot event against Swindon Town in September, all of Blackpool’s games have been played behind closed doors so far this season.

Critchley was also disappointed to hear that Blackpool’s upcoming trip to Sunderland had been postponed owing to a Covid outbreak at the Stadium of Light.

The fixture, which was scheduled to take place next Tuesday night, will now have to be rearranged for a third time, after the original date was moved after three Sunderland players were called up for international duty.

“We were disappointed, but you have to understand the situation Sunderland are in and the country at this moment in time,” Critchley added.

“The health and safety of everyone is the most important thing.

“We’re disappointed because we were looking forward to going up and playing in a fantastic stadium against a really good team.

“We’re in good form, so it would have been a good time to go there. But what it does give us is a bit of a break physically.

“That gives us a bit longer between the Accrington game and the Rochdale game on Boxing Day.”

The Seasiders could welcome back Dan Ballard for this weekend’s trip to the Crown Ground after the defender returned to training yesterday.

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