'Take the ego out of it' - Blackpool boss sends message to club ahead of important block
Blackpool take on Barnsley at Oakwell this weekend.
Ian Evatt believes Blackpool need to be humble in their aspirations in the short-term but can still be excited by the future.
The 44-year-old took over as head coach at Bloomfield Road back in October, and has since set about guiding the club out of the League One relegation zone.
Despite enjoying an impressive December, with 13 points coming in five games, the Seasiders still find themselves close to the bottom end of the third tier.
It’s a similar story for a number of clubs, including this weekend’s opponents Barnsley - who are only ahead of Blackpool on goal difference, with the clubs sat in 17th and 19th respectively.
Ultimately, it wouldn’t take much for either side to leap frog a number of other teams up the table, while equally a few bad results could see them dragged into the bottom four.
Evatt states the Seasiders’ main focus for now has to remain on securing their League One status, before casting their eyes upwards.
“As a club we need to take the ego out of it,” he said.
“We’re all excited about the future and what I think we can do working together - with the community I can feel around the club again, which I feel is crucial.
“We need to take the ego out of it and just get to safety first, and make sure we get enough points on the board to make sure we’re in this division at least next season.
“We’ll go from there - that’s where I see it. I obviously have huge aspirations for this club and us working together, but for now we need to be humble enough to know where we are, know where we’ve been, and work hard to get out of it.”
Time to prepare
Following a hectic Christmas period, Blackpool have been able to spend some more time training, as they look to bounce back from consecutive defeats to Port Vale and Bradford City at the start of 2026.
“I love full week preparations because you really get to nail in the detail of what we require from the team,” Evatt added.
“Everything we do in training is related to games. Many people will listen to that and think ‘why’s it not,’ but it doesn’t always work like that in football.
“It’s important that we don’t waste time in the league and in the weeks when we can get out on the grass to learn and improve.
“We’ll come up with a plan together and see it come to life on a Saturday - and that makes it all worthwhile for me.
“We’re trying to develop a game model that can carry us to sustainable success, but that’s hard in season. The bigger picture is really exciting for me, and looking ahead to a full pre-season where we can really nail down what we want to do.
“For now, we’ve got to develop that plan, but also find a way to get results to get us safe. We’ve had to take the ego out of it and understand where we are. At the minute, whatever we feel we need to do to get results is the most important thing.”
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