'They made a mistake': Why Blackpool duo Lewis Fiorini and Ian Poveda were missing against Bristol City

Blackpool’s head coach confirmed the pair stormed out of Bloomfield Road last week after being left out of the squad for the game against Burnley.

After the duo were absent for a second straight week for today’s 2-0 defeat to Bristol City, McCarthy confirmed it was a result of last week’s incident.

“Both of them went home last week before the game, so they weren’t involved today,” he told The Gazette.

“They’re just not playing, not when that’s the case. It will be done now but the team played ever so well last week and they deserved the chance to start again and that’s what happened.”

Reflecting on last week’s walkout, McCarthy added: “If we get an injury in the warm-up, they need to be there so they made a mistake. But they’re back in the squad.”

When asked if he’s spoken to both players, McCarthy concluded: “Yes, of course.”

Elsewhere, Keshi Anderson wasn’t involved despite making his return from injury for the development squad in midweek.

The 27-year-old, who has only played 35 minutes of competitive football this season, will now be hoping to come into contention for the crucial home game against QPR on Tuesday night.

When asked if Anderson was ever in the frame to feature at Ashton Gate, McCarthy said: “No, not really. He’s had 60 minutes and he needed to train on Friday, but he had a gym day.

“He will train on Sunday and we’ll see how he is.”