Opinion: Blackpool can enjoy sigh of relief after recent signs of what could've been before summer inquest
Blackpool overcame Wycombe Wanderers with a 1-0 win on the road on Saturday afternoon.
Opinion: Blackpool can afford to enjoy their sigh of relief after Saturday’s result and build some more momentum in their remaining two games - but an inquest of what has gone wrong this term still awaits.
The Seasiders’ 1-0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers leaves them six points clear of relegation zone, with just two games remaining.
That should be enough for safety, but in a campaign where everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, it’ll take the mathematical confirmation to truly relax, even if the nature of other fixtures fall in their favour.
Over the last few weeks, there’s certainly been signs of what could’ve been, with Ian Evatt’s locking in and delivering.
Everyone was left fearing the worst after the 2-1 defeat to Doncaster Rovers last month, so you can only applaud the turnaround that has taken place.
Following the result at the Eco-Power Stadium, the time was there to put things right, the backing was available if they proved they were worthy of it, and they possessed the quality to change their own fortunes - it was just about whether they had the fight to pick themselves up off the floor.
The turnaround has been quite astonishing. A month ago, the slightest bit of adversity would lead to a complete collapse, but now they’ve been able to see out the last two games with 10-men.
Against Wycombe in particular, they looked like a team of leaders, all stepping up and taking responsibility for the situation.
The squad have been accused several times of not caring, but they’ve finally been able to act on their words by finishing the season strongly.
It’s been a tale of two Port Vale games under Evatt’s time in charge. A 5-1 defeat on New Year’s Day derailed what had been a good Christmas, while a 3-2 win started the recent change of fortunes.
The latter was built on the ability to scrap and keep fighting, and laid the foundations for much better rounded displays.
It’s probably fair to praise Blackpool for how they’ve pulled together to avert disaster, while also criticising them for even being in that position in the first place.
Once the season has passed, an inquest does need to take place on why so many things have gone wrong.
Why did the players start the season looking so far off the pace under Steve Bruce? Why have injuries plagued them time and time again? Why did certain areas feel bare despite the big summer of recruitment? Why did players who were meant to propel the club up the table struggle for so long?
Those questions and more will need to be looked into, but for now the feeling of relief can be enjoyed. The late push against relegation can be celebrated; just not the season as a whole, as it’s miles off where the club should be.
The scenes at the end of the Wycombe game were great to see, with the full squad running over to the away end for the usual fist pumps.
Hopefully it’ll be more of the same at Bloomfield Road on Saturday afternoon. The home support has played a huge part in inspiring the turnaround of the last few weeks, so it’s fitting in a way that the job should be mathematically done on the Fylde Coast.
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