Ex-Blackpool forward recalls manager's clear message following Luton Town celebrations

Former Blackpool striker Jamille Matt states celebrations from Luton Town was one of the factors that fuelled the Seasiders’ push for promotion in 2017.

In the meeting between the pair at Kenilworth Road during the regular season, now-Wrexham forward Ollie Palmer scored a stoppage time winner for the Hatters.

Just over a month later, it was Blackpool who were the team celebrating. After finishing seventh in the League Two table, they came up against the Bedfordshire outfit in the play-off semi-finals.

After claiming a 3-2 win at Bloomfield Road, the Seasiders booked their place at Wembley after drawing 3-3 in the second leg.

Gary Bowyer’s side would go on to clinch promotion with a 2-1 victory over Exeter City at the national stadium - with that game taking place on this day eight years ago.

At the time, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Blackpool, with a fan boycott ongoing in protest of the then-Oyston ownership.

On an individual basis, it wasn’t the most-fruitful spell of Matt’s career either, with the now-Walsall forward only managing five goals in 39 appearances during his time on the Fylde Coast.

Despite not being part of the team that claimed victory over Exeter, Matt was on the bench for the defeat to Luton during the regular season, and remembers the clear message from the coach after that game.

“Gary Bowyer was a great manager,” he told Sky Bet.

“One season, we played against Luton, and we lost in the final minute, and they celebrated as if they got promoted that day.

“It was funny because Gary got us all together in a huddle on the pitch and he said that we’re going to come back here and beat them in the play-offs, which we eventually did and made the final.

“He believed in us as a group, built a strong squad, and told us to believe in ourselves.”

Bowyer’s return to the dugout

Following a spell without a club, Bowyer returned to the dugout last year with Burton Albion.

Despite the Brewers being in trouble near the bottom of the League One table at the time of the appointment, the 53-year-old was able to guide the club to safety.

“To be back in football is brilliant, I’ve got a lot to thank Radio Lancashire for as they had me doing the games at Blackpool, which helped because I was watching League One football,” he told the Gazette earlier this month.

“The call came from Burton just before Christmas, and I found myself being offered the job. It was a massive challenge, people were questioning my sanity, but I had been out of work for a long time and I needed to get back in.

“I was excited by what was sold to me. It was a massive job to pick everyone up and get smiles on their faces. Fortunately we had a good January window, and then we won three in a week - which really gave everyone the belief we would fight until the end.

“I was never in a position where I could guarantee an outcome, but what I could guarantee is that we would work very hard in training and we’d always be competitive in games. It was more a process of highlighting what strengths we had individually and collectively, and just keep reaffirming them and building on the positives.

“Before we knew it, we were winning football matches, and that’s the thing that gives players that confidence.

“If you look at the situation now, then we’ve raised expectations. When we first went in people didn’t expect us to do anything.

“We’ve got players we’d got players who we’d like to keep who are out of contract, and we’ve had loans go back, so we’ve got a big rebuild to do, and it’s going to be tough again with the calibre of teams that have come down, and the ones coming up are big as well. From a budget point of view, it’s going to be tough for us again.”

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