No change for Steve Bruce as Blackpool set sights on Bradford City task

Blackpool claimed a dramatic stoppage time winner to beat Barnsley 1-0 at Bloomfield Road.

Steve Bruce states nothing will change for Blackpool this week as they look to build on their 1-0 victory over Barnsley.

Jordan Brown’s 98th minute goal gave the Seasiders their first win in over a month, as they relieved some of the pressure they were under following a disappointing start to the season.

Bruce’s side still remain in the bottom four in League One, and still face a big turnaround to get their season on track - with leaders Bradford City at Valley Parade up next.

Following an underwhelming first half against Barnsley on Saturday, Blackpool were able to show more signs of promise after the break, before remaining resilient to secure the three points.

“I hope my demeanour hasn’t changed,” Bruce said.

“Of course you beat yourself up, but the art of it is not to get carried away when you win and not to get too downbeat when you’re losing because you’ve got to keep in the middle ground.

“We’ll get back to work during the week again, and get ready for Bradford who have a good start. It’ll be a tough game.”

Squad quality proves crucial

Jordan Brown celebrates his winner for Blackpool against Barnsley todayplaceholder image
Jordan Brown celebrates his winner for Blackpool against Barnsley today | Gareth Evans / Blackpool FC

Bruce believes the depth available to him following a big summer of recruitment played a major part in the Tykes win, after introducing match-winner Brown off the bench.

“I hope it’s a turning point, because we’ve got the nucleus of a very decent squad. When you get off to a bad start, you’ve got to dig deep, because we understand how the game is now. We need to cry for patience and time.

“Thankfully the people above me are terrific to work for, and that’s probably why I’m here in the first place. I want to create a team that’s capable of mounting a challenge in this division. They’ve certainly given me the tools, it’s just about me and my staff getting the best out of them.

“We’ve seen the strength of my bench, and the squad of players we’ve got, and that for me won us the game. The ability, when two people get injured, to bring on people like Browny (Jordan Brown) - who was harshly left on the bench.

“It’s starting to take shape, that can only give people a bit of encouragement. We weren’t great in the first half, you could see we didn’t have that little bit of confidence, but a result like that can hopefully send us on our way because we know we’ve got the making of a decent squad of players, let’s hope that’s the platform.

“Fair play to the people above me who have put this squad together. I’ve pleaded for patience, of course I have. Hopefully onwards and upwards, and we can get a bit of momentum.”

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