Blackpool boss shares next steps following controversial red card decision ahead of Bradford City test
Blackpool were defeated 5-1 by Port Vale in their first outing of 2026 - but a red card for James Husband was one of the main talking points.
Blackpool will appeal James Husband’s red card against Port Vale ahead of their meeting with Bradford City at Bloomfield Road on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors had taken the lead at Vale Park through Tom Bloxham after 26 minutes, but the direction of the game altered following the dismissal of the Seasiders club captain in first half stoppage time.
Following the restart, goals from Jayden Stockley, George Byers, Jaheim Headley, Devante Cole and Ronan Curtis emphatically turned the contest around to give the Valiants a 5-1 victory to ease their woes at the bottom of League One.
After the match, Blackpool head coach Ian Evatt came out to criticise the decision to send off Husband, insisting the challenge didn’t merit the punishment and questioned whether it was even a foul.
The 44-year-old admits he wants to move on from the incident and let the club’s hierarchy deal with the appeal process, while he gets his side ready to take on Bradford in their next outing.
“I apologise to our fans that they’ve travelled this way and seen that,” he said.
“I do think we would’ve won the game with 11, I felt like we were comfortable.
“I just said to the players, and I’ll say it to the supporters, all of the frustration and anger, we need to focus on Bradford City on Sunday, and make sure we take it out on them.
“We won’t speak about this now. We’ll let the club deal with the PGMOL - we’ll obviously appeal the red card.
“I don’t think it’s a foul, let alone a red card. We had one that probably went for us on Monday (against Rotherham United), but today it went massively against us when we were ahead in the game.
“We’re incredibly frustrated, but that needs to go into Bradford.
“All of our focus has to be on the game on Sunday, and making sure we win it. We need the crowd with us. The players need support and we’ll make sure we’re ready.”
Getting ready for Sunday
Evatt states some of his changes in the second half of the defeat to Port Vale were made with the weekend’s game at the back of his mind following a hectic Christmas period.
“There’s only so much these players can do, and we need these key players fit and healthy,” he added.
“This was a really heavy pitch today, and they had put in so much effort over the festive period. Going down to 10 isn’t going to help us, especially when we went down in the game, it’s then down to focussing on what we need to do on Sunday.
“I felt the players we put on could help us, but we didn’t manage the game well enough. As players, we lost our focus and concentration based on the decisions going against us.
“There’s no point wallowing in self pity and feeling sorry for ourselves, we have to take this on the chin and own it. I do think there’s context behind it, but we have to be ready for Sunday.
“All of the emotions we’re feeling now have to be utilised and used on beating Bradford City. That’s where my focus is.”
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