'Honest conversations': Blackpool boss Ian Evatt pulls no punches after AFC Wimbledon defeat
Blackpool returned to the League One relegation zone with a 4-1 defeat to AFC Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Blackpool boss Ian Evatt felt his players pressed the self-destruct button once again at AFC Wimbledon after a 4-1 defeat sent them tumbling into the League One relegation zone.
All four of the Dons’ goals were preventable as the Seasiders failed to make their opponents work hard enough to score, a fault that has been levelled against them frequently during their troubled season.
They now lie behind Wigan on goal difference ahead of what is set to be a six-pointer at fellow strugglers Doncaster on Saturday, having been outside the bottom four only on goals scored before kick-off at Plough Lane.
Evatt said: “We just didn’t give ourselves a chance in the game. We conceded two really poor goals to start with.
“We changed the corner setups, done lots of things differently and defended them really well on Saturday (against Wigan), and then tonight we’ve slipped up and they scored, which gave them a head start in the game.
“We then gave away a penalty at the start of the second half and gave ourselves a mountain to climb.
“After that, we wrestled control of the game, we got the goal and we’re in the ascendency and it’s us trying to push, then when we are trying to open the game up in the last five or six minutes, we concede another awful goal from a wayward pass.
“Obviously, confidence goes, everything else goes and we end up conceding a fourth. It was never a 4-1 game – anyone here would see that – but it’s the same theme and we have to do better.”
Ian Evatt on Blackpool’s concerning mentality
Evatt was left worrying about his players’ mentality for the second away game running, following a late collapse that was eerily similar to the one seen in the 4-0 loss at Lincoln.
He added: “When things go against us, we are very mentally fragile and we end up conceding and we can’t reset.
“We’ve spoken about it, we’ve had lots of honest conversations about it, but the same thing keeps reoccurring.”