Jay Spearing believes Blackpool have everything in place to push for promotion

Blackpool skipper Jay Spearing believes the club has added the right ingredients into the mix to right the wrongs of last season and launch a genuine push for promotion.
Blackpool captain Jay SpearingBlackpool captain Jay Spearing
Blackpool captain Jay Spearing

Two strikers in the form of Ryan Hardie and Adi Yussuf have been signed to try and address Pool’s scoring issues, which saw them find the back of the net just 50 times last season.

Seven signings have been made in total, with Grayson still looking to make more, and Spearing has been impressed with the club’s business.

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“The new signings have been very good, the lads have settled straight away,” the 30-year-old told The Gazette.

“I’ve always believed the quicker you can get signings in, the quicker they bed in.

“We had a good week in St Andrews which tested us all and it was enjoyable.

“They’ve all added to the group and I’m hoping they can only make us better and push us on.

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“I don’t see why we can’t challenge for the play-offs next season.

“We’ve had two solid seasons finishing in the top half of the table but we all know in those two seasons where we dropped points and what we could have done better.

“Things have changed, the gaffer has brought in a couple of strikers which was key because we thought we didn’t score enough goals.

“He’s brought in a great centre-half in Ryan Edwards who has shown he can play at this level and has shown he is good on the ball.

“We’re looking forward to the new campaign.

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“We’ve got nothing to lose this year but we want to challenge for those play-offs.

“I said it before but we want to get into the Championship and that’s what every single one of the lads wants as well.”

The Seasiders have just a week-and-a-half of pre-season remaining before they line up against Bristol Rovers on the opening weekend of the campaign.

Spearing believes Simon Grayson’s men are in good shape and is confident they will hit the ground running.

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“It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie,” he added. “Ross (Jones, the fitness coach) has come in and put us through our paces.

“With the appointment of the new gaffer, he’s put his ideas across and he’s been just as tough with us.

“As he’s said over the last couple of games, he still wants little bits changing and little bits adding to what we’re already doing.

“We’re working as hard as possible and the boys have come back with a bit of a kick in their step as we’re all looking forward to an exciting season.

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“It was exciting from the moment the owner announced that he had bought the club. That’s not just for the players, I think everyone around the town was excited to see what the future holds.

“We came back in good shape and hit the ground running even before our first friendlies.

“The fans came down in their numbers at Fylde and we had a decent following at Barrow as well and hopefully we’re showing them some good signs.

“The new players are bedding in and we’ve got an exciting squad. We want to kick on this season and start as well as possible.”