'More to come' - Crystal Palace loanee lives up to excitement for Blackpool boss on full return
Blackpool overcame Rotherham United with a 3-0 victory at the New York Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Danny Imray impressed on his return to Blackpool’s starting XI following a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The Crystal Palace opened the scoring for the Seasiders in their 3-0 victory over Rotherham United on Wednesday night after just two minutes.
Josh Bowler slipped a ball through for the wing-back, who made the most of some space in the box, as he fired across the face of goal to find the bottom corner.
Tom Bloxham and Ashley Fletcher also found the back of the net at the New York Stadium as Ian Evatt’s side returned to winning ways in League One.
An impressive comeback for Imray
Prior to the game in South Yorkshire, Imray’s last start for Blackpool had come at the end of September, with a knee injury forcing him off in the early stages of a 2-2 draw with Luton Town.
After introducing the 22-year-old off the bench against Carlisle United in the FA Cup at the weekend, the Seasiders felt the defender was ready for some more substantial minutes.
“Danny is a bundle of energy,” Evatt said.
“I’ve been excited to work with him because I’ve seen the type of player he is, and he’s very much suited to what I want to do - his goal showed that.
“It’s his first goal for us and I think there’s a lot more to come.
“It’s about the players tonight, but great credit to the coaching staff who have spent a lot of time with the lads who have been out injured, making sure they’re included in everything we’re doing.
“Hopfully now that’s pay off - it’s great to have Danny back, it’s great to have Josh (Bowler) back, it’s great to have Albie (Morgan) back, and it’s great to have Hubby (James Husband) back.
“Dale is training again now, so we’ll see him on a teamsheet pretty soon; we’ve just got to keep everyone in one piece.
“We lost Olly (Casey) but his injury isn’t anything like the others have had so he’ll be back pretty quickly.
“When everyone’s available, it’s a competitive squad.”
An important win
Blackpool’s victory over Rotherham came on the back of positive results elsewhere for some of the teams around them in League One’s bottom four.
Evatt admits he’s currently not concerned by the ongoings elsewhere, and is solely focussed on improving his side.
“It’s about anyone else, it’s about what we do; it’s about us,” the Seasiders head coach added.
“No one’s happy with where we’re at right now, but we don’t want that to define us. What we want to define us is how we perform when we’re under this pressure and in this mess.
“We showed against Rotherham we can do it, but it’s only one result and it’s only three points, so we need to back it up.”
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