'Fair play to him' - Blackpool boss' response as forward continues to put Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City struggles behind him
Niall Ennis’ bright start to life with Blackpool continued on Saturday afternoon.
The forward was on hand with a first half brace to help the Seasiders on their way to a 3-1 victory over Crawley Town.
After the 25-year-old’s goals, Kamari Doyle was on target for the Red Devils, while Ashley Fletcher was sent off, before a Lee Evans penalty re-extended the lead for Steve Bruce’s side in the latter stages of the match.
Prior to his loan move to Bloomfield Road from Stoke City last month, Ennis had struggled in front of goal during his time in the Championship.
On the back of his strong form in Plymouth Argyle’s promotion season back in the 2022/23 League One campaign, he experienced difficulties with both Blackburn Rovers and the Potters in the second tier, but has now scored four times in five games in Tangerine.
The striker’s first goal against Crawley was a glancing header from a CJ Hamilton cross, while his second was a slight flick after a pass towards the target from Albie Morgan.
“He got enough on it,” Bruce said.
“It’s a great back heel. I wondered how it’d gone in, I thought it’d gone straight in, but if you watch it back you can see the touch and the run across. Typical goalscorer’s goal where he’s on the end of it.
“He’s made himself a bit of a crowd favourite already. Fair play to him, he’s had a tough time in the last few months, but he’s come here, dusted himself down, and got his reward.
“He gives you everything he’s got, and he’s been a really good signing in the last month. He’s already got four goals, so fair play to him.”
Ennis’ reasons behind Blackpool move
As well as being linked with the Seasiders during the winter transfer window, Leyton Orient were also reportedly interested in the former Wolves youngster.
In an interview last week, the forward stated one factor in particular made him keen to make the move to the Fylde Coast.
“I heard of interest before the window opened, but you don’t know officially until it comes,” he said.
“Out of respect to Stoke, I was still focussing on there, because until you’ve signed you’re still a player at that club. When I was called upon to play, I was still 100 percent focussed on them, but I knew there was interest.
“The gaffer was one of the main reasons. He’s got a lot of wisdom as a player and a manager at high levels. It’s just about listening to him, the coaching staff and the senior players at the club, and taking that knowledge and applying it to my game.
“I saw a lot of footage (of the team), and I saw that they created chances. It’s a striker’s dream to be in teams that create, so it’s up to me to get on the end of them, so it’s only the start.”