'Keep backing us' - Blackpool boss shares embarrassment as he issues plea to fan base
Blackpool exited the EFL Trophy following a 4-2 defeat to Harrogate Town at the Exercise Stadium.
Ian Evatt has urged Blackpool fans to keep backing his side despite their current struggles - and believes togetherness will get the club out of its current hole.
The Seasiders have endured problems on several fronts in the past few weeks.
On the back of his initial bright start to life as Seasiders head coach, following his appointment at the end of October, Evatt has seen his side go without a win in their last five games in all competitions.
This run includes just one point from their three most-recent League One outings, with Saturday afternoon’s 3-0 defeat to Reading leaving them in the bottom four.
A change of competition on Tuesday presented an opportunity for Blackpool to create a distraction, but it only brought the mood down further.
The club exited the EFL Trophy after suffering a 4-2 defeat away to Harrogate Town, with the damage being done in the opening 17 minutes, with the North Yorkshire outfit racing to an early 3-0 lead.
“Anyone involved in this football club would’ve felt embarrassed by those first 10/15 minutes - the players more than anyone else,” Evatt said.
“They felt it, and they got punished every time they went forward. Sometimes in football, things like that can spiral. It spiralled from Saturday, with how disappointing that was. The players carried that into the start of this game.
“What pleased me is we showed some resilience in the second half. Anyone that was here or watched the game will know we should’ve won it with the amount we created. If we can use that as a bench mark to keep that character and belief, then we’ll be fine.
“The players could’ve backed out, and it could’ve got worse, but it didn’t; it got better - it got a lot better.
“When we stick to the structure of what we’re trying to do, and the players feel trusted enough to take risks in the right areas, then we can hurt teams, and it was just complete dominance. That’s what I want us to get to.
“We know we can’t start games like that, and it’s not acceptable. We have to work hard to be better, but being negative about everything all of the time isn’t going to help. We have to get the players feeling confident and feeling some belief.
“Times like this are when everyone comes together. It’s not the good times that test your togetherness, it’s the bad times, and this club needs togetherness more than ever. Hopefully I can be a leader and the supporters can listen to what I’m saying and keep backing us, because I know it’s there.
“When we perform like that in the second half we can start to enjoy it again a little bit, but for now it’s heads down and fight for our lives.”
Lapse in concentration; not a lack of effort
Evatt insists Blackpool’s poor start wasn’t down to a lack of effort from his players, and was left pleased by the way they were able to pick themselves up after the break to produce what he deemed was one of the strongest halves of his tenure so far.
“The first 10/15 minutes wasn’t acceptable in any way, shape or form, but that wasn’t down to a lack of hard work,” he added.
“It was down to us not concentrating and feeling a little bit sorry for ourselves for the poor performance on Saturday - even though it wasn’t a 3-0 game, it was a moments game.
“For me, it was the reaction on Saturday that was disappointing. When we conceded, we went more in our shell and went even more safe, whereas today we did show some bravery and courage.
“I thought we played very well in the second half, arguably the best half of football since I’ve been in charge with how dominant we were.
“We’ve got to understand that we’ve got to stick together, work harder, and turn this season around. I’m confident we can do that.
“All we’ve got to keep doing is showing the players the difference and keep giving them positive reinforcement that when you do the right things, this is what you can do against the opposition. You can’t forget the basics as you’ve still got to compete, but when you are positive you can hurt the opposition.
“The result isn’t good at all, but I can accept what I saw in the second half.”
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