Steve Bruce's immediate reaction to Blackpool's EFL Cup exit against Sheffield Wednesday
Steve Bruce states he couldn’t fault the effort of his Blackpool side in their 1-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup.
Di'Shon Bernard scored the only goal of the game to help the Owls progress to the fourth round.
Bruce made 10 changes from Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Exeter City, with some of the alterations enforced through injury, while others were simply down to rotation following his appointment a fortnight ago.
“It was vitally important for me to see the team, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair or right,” he said.
“It’s very difficult because we’ve only trained a few times, but I was delighted with the performance on Saturday, and they worked their socks off all night without producing in the final third.
“There wasn’t much in it ability wise. They were bigger and physically stronger than us, but that’s normal the higher you go.
“They worked hard enough, and their effort and endeavour was there for everyone to see, but we just lacked a little bit in the last third.
“I can’t remember either goalkeeper making a save, or a chance being created at both ends. The one opportunity they’ve got, they’ve taken it, but there was nothing much in it.
“It was always going to be hard with the amount of changes we made, but I thought it was important I saw more of the squad.
“We’re disappointed we’ve gone out, but I couldn’t fault their effort. Overall the group stuck at it, but when we needed that little bit of quality, it wasn’t quite there. When we made the changes outside, it was a little bit better, but we never really created enough. We huffed and puffed all night.”