Blackpool's players are warned to expect a wounded Accrington Stanley

That’s according to Pool’s head coach Neil Critchley, whose side return to home turf this evening looking to get back to winning ways after their 2-2 draw against Lincoln City at the weekend.

As for Stanley, they were surprisingly beaten 5-1 at home to League One strugglers AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, a result that leaves John Coleman’s side six points adrift of the play-offs.

“It doesn’t make them any less of a team or any less dangerous,” Critchley warned.

“After the Peterborough result (7-0 defeat) the other week, they went and picked up four points from their next two games and won at Oxford away. That just shows you what they’re capable of.

“It’s Accrington, you have to do certain things when you play against them because they’re a good team with good players and a manager and staff that I have an enormous amount of respect for because of the job they’ve done over such a long period of time.

“I’m looking forward to the game but I’m always wary of Accrington after a defeat because of the mentality they’ve shown, not just this season but through John’s period of time at the club.

“They’ve always fought against the odds and proven themselves, so this game is no different.

“I can’t speak highly enough of John and his staff, they do an incredible job.

“They’ve got so much passion for the game, so much passion for Accrington and they’re football men.

“They’re really intelligent, they get the best out of their players and they know how to do it because they do it every single season.”

Both sides have had misfortune with injuries this season, with Accrington’s squad decimated in recent weeks.

“It’s been uncharted territory for every team this season,” Critchley continued.

“You have to be adaptable and not get too emotional when things don’t go your way, whether it’s a result, injured players or Covid.

“When you get that type of news, it can be hard to take and frustrating, but you’ve already prepared yourself that this could possibly happen so you just have to find a solution. There’s no point moaning about it, it’s the same for everyone.

“It’s been relentless and it still is. We’ve only got a few weeks to go but we’ve still got eight games left, so there’s still quite a lot of football to play yet.”

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