Neil Critchley explains tactical changes to his Blackpool side for much-needed victory against MK Dons

The Seasiders have played in a 4-3-3 system since the start of pre-season, but that changed for the first time during yesterday's game.

Pool instead lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Ben Woodburn playing as a number 10 to stop David Kasumu from receiving the ball in the MK Dons midfield.

Russell Martin’s side, who play with three centre-backs, like to play the ball out from the back and - while they enjoyed over 60 per cent of the possession - they only had the ball in areas of the pitch where they couldn’t really hurt Blackpool.

In that respect, the tactical switch paid dividends as Critchley’s side claimed a much-needed 1-0 win thanks to Sullay Kaikai’s second-half strike.

On the change in system, Critchley told The Gazette: “We did it specifically for this game because of the way MK Dons play. They have a different system that we’d normally come up against.

“I’ve got to commend Russell and his team because I think the way they play is fantastic, it’s excellent and they create real problems for you tactically.

“We decided to change to try and get as much pressure on the ball as high up the pitch as possible and keep them away from our goal.

“I have to say defensively and with the shift from the front four or front six with Grant Ward and Jordan Williams behind was excellent. They kept the ball away from the goal for 90 minutes.”

There was also a change in position for CJ Hamilton, who lined up on the left flank in the first-half, only to change back to the right for the second period.

“We changed it today because when they’re playing with a back three we thought we would get some space on the outside,” Critchley added.

“We wanted CJ to go on the outside on his left foot and Sullay to go on the outside on his right foot.

“You know with the attacking players we’ve got we’ve got the option to change those players around and rotate.

“CJ from the right created the goal and Sullay comes from the left, but we had some similar situations in the first-half but it just didn’t fall for us from CJ being on the left crossing.

“Thankfully that one went well for us.”

Kaikai was eventually withdrawn from the action 10 minutes from time to keep him fit for Tuesday night’s trip to AFC Wimbledon.

The forward netted on his return from injury in what was his first appearance since the defeat at Gillingham on September 26.

When asked if it was a risk to play Kaikai from the start, Critchley said: “No, it wasn’t a risk. He’s been training for over a week now.

“He’s an important player for us but we also don’t want to rush him back too quick and risk him being out for longer.

“He put a real shift in for the team and hopefully he can nwo build upon that and stay fit because we’ve got a lot of games coming up now. So we need to look after him because he’ll be an important player for us this season.”