Blackpool claimed a 3-1 victory over Cardiff City in Ian Evatt’s first league game at home following his appointment as head coach last month.

Ian Evatt states he was pleased with the way Blackpool executed their game plan to claim a 3-1 victory over Cardiff City - but insists there’s still a long way to go.

Ashley Fletcher was on hand with a brace, before Tom Bloxham added his name to the scoresheet as well, as the new head coach’s first league game at Bloomfield Road ended with a comfortable three points.

The Bluebirds were able to claim a late consolation through Yousef Salech, after being left frustrated by Bailey Peacock-Farrell for the majority of the afternoon.

Reflecting on the game, Evatt said: “I hope we get better. I’m delighted with the performance today and they executed the game plan to perfection, but I’m just gutted we conceded that goal - and they are too.

“I want us to be better than that, I want them to get used to beating teams at the top end of the table and have that pressure. You can see why Cardiff are there, they’re a very good team.

“If my boys keep doing what they’re doing at the moment and have the right attitude to learning then I know we’ll get better in terms of the technical and tactical side - we’ve got a long way to go but that was a pretty good starting point.

“The basics of football are underestimated. It’s the bare minimum of playing for this football club because I know what it means to these supporters. We want to keep them happy and make them proud.

“It was a difficult game because they’re a good team. In the first half they asked us a lot of questions. In the first 15 minutes we should’ve been ahead, we had some big moments we didn’t take, and then we were a bit in between.

“In the second half I felt we deserved to win the game comfortably - we defended the box incredibly well and had some massive chances. We should’ve scored more.

“I’m just so proud of the players for executing that game plan. It was a huge physical and mental effort, and they all applied themselves incredibly well.

“We’ve got a long way to go. This is only another win and another three points. Yes, we’ll enjoy it, but we’ve got lots of games to come.”

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