Ian Evatt shares the main thing that made him 'proud' of his Blackpool FC team after big win

Ian Evatt was left proud of his Blackpool side following their 1-0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers at the weekend - as they took a major step towards League One survival.

The Seasiders have received their fair share of criticism throughout the current campaign. Pre-season hopes of a promotion push at Bloomfield Road did come to fruition, with the club instead finding itself in a relegation battle.

A run of 16 points from their last seven games has helped to avert disaster, with the Fylde Coast outfit now six points and five places clear of the bottom four heading into their final two games.

An own goal from Luke Leahy proved to be the difference against Wycombe on Saturday afternoon, as Evatt’s side held on with 10-men after a red card for Hayden Coulson.

The Blackpool boss believes the DNA he wants to instil into his squad has been on display over the past month, and is pleased by the way the group have bounced back from some difficult periods.

“I’m a proud guy at the moment because I know how hard we work and I know what we’ve been through at times this season,” he said.

“I know there’s been a lot of critique and a lot of criticism. Sometimes it’s fair, but sometimes it becomes too much.

“These are young lads. They aren’t necessarily built to deal with adversity and tough times. Social media has become a big part of life in general - it takes one comment to stick in a players mind and affect their confidence.

“At times this season I feel that’s been the case, but it’s my job to rally the troops, it’s my job to be a leader, it’s my job to create a DNA of togetherness - and I think we’re finally getting that now.

“I thought we were excellent at Cardiff, Huddersfield and Bolton - three of the toughest places to go in the division. We let ourselves down in a couple of games, but it was in spells; it wasn’t consistent.

“Today, we showed really desire and really energy to get the job done. This is a tough place to come.”

With full mathematical confirmation of survival still required, Evatt states his side won’t be taking their foot off the gas heading into their meeting with Leyton Orient at Bloomfield Road on Saturday afternoon.

“They won’t - you’ve seen what they put into today,” he added.

“You’ve been how much effort they’ve put in; there’s no way this group of players will turn up thinking they’re on the beach next week - it just won’t happen.

“It’s not in my DNA to let that happen. Some of my staff were part of my team, and we’ve had Gary Taylor-Fletcher in the building - it’s great for the players to hear what it was like to be part of that team, and they want to create their own legacy.

“We’ve spoken about that team a lot, and it’s my job to bring back the good times here and create a new legacy to make our fans happy again - that’s my dream and my goal.”

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