Gary Taylor-Fletcher column: It’s fun to be a Blackpool fan again

The fans made a lot of noise and you could see the boost it gave to the team. To be honest it’s about time it was like that again at Bloomfield Road.

I’m sure the players on the pitch have now realised this is what Blackpool are about.

Jay Spearing played for Liverpool when we were in the Premier League.

But for the other players, it must have been great to enjoy such an experience.

Not only that, it’s also great for the fans.

I was laughed at when I put a quote out the other day saying thank you to the fans who didn’t come in the last few years.

But the fact is that if they hadn’t stayed away they wouldn’t have got the club back.

But it’s positive all round for the club now and it’s time to push on and move forward.

As for the game, I thought Blackpool played well, especially in the second half when their play was a lot more fluid.

First half we were getting to certain points and it was breaking down a little bit.

But to be fair to the team, they really stepped it up in the second period with their movement and the way they played.

Curtis Tilt at the back had a bit of luck at times but mostly he was a rock.

I was also very impressed with Sullay Kaikai and Armand Gnanduillet showed what he can be about.

Now we need these players to keep performing as we move forward but there were a lot of good performances.

You just hope the squad depth is strong enough to mount a push for the top.

It’s a positive start and hopefully Simon Grayson can bring in one or two more players in.

I’m sure Larry will be working behind the scenes to see what he can do.

But the squad has already shown it’s a good one, given what they achieved last year despite the limited resources at their disposal.

Now there might be that little bit of added pressure because everything is being geared towards the players for the first time in maybe 20 or 30 years.

So let’s see what the players can do, though it probably does depend on what Larry can do in the last few weeks of the transfer window.

Grayson is unbelievable. He knows this league, having been promoted four times.

The one thing he has shown in the past is that he has a very good eye for a player. That’s now coming to fruition once again.

This weekend we head to Southend. It will be a long trip down but another good opportunity to pick up a win.

The boys set the standards in the second half last Saturday. Now they need to keep that going and maintain those standards all the way through.

If they can do that I’m confident they will give anyone a game and actually dominate games at times.

Then it’s just about having that killer instinct and finishing the chances they create.

On a personal level, I’m delighted to have started a new ambassadorial role with the club.

The club called to say they wanted to get some of the old legends back from 2010, and Brett has come in alongside myself.

The role involves us hosting at home games, meeting and greeting those in hospitality and being a face for the club.

We started the gig on Saturday for the Bristol Rovers game and it was a case of telling stories from our time at the club to keep that goodwill going.

We’re also looking to organise a tenth anniversary game for the end of the season to mark our promotion to the Premier League.

This will be involve a match and a big gala dinner is also in the pipeline, so all the things coming out of the club are good at the minute and everyone is looking forward.

It’s a great time to be a Blackpool fan.