'It's not a nice thing to deal with': Blackpool captain Jay Spearing discusses Gary Bowyer's shock exit

Blackpool skipper Jay Spearing has given an insight into some of the issues that may have forced Gary Bowyer to step down from his role as the club's manager.
Spearing was devastated to hear Bowyer had stepped downSpearing was devastated to hear Bowyer had stepped down
Spearing was devastated to hear Bowyer had stepped down
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Bowyer handed in his resignation on Monday after holding showdown talks with club owner Owen Oyston.

It is understood the 47-year-old had been frustrated with the loss of a number of key players this summer, as well as Oyston’s reluctance to sell Curtis Tilt as a means of financing further reinforcements.

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Bowyer was also angry with the state of the club’s training ground, which has been deemed unplayable for the foreseeable future.

Spearing said: “We could go on and on and name names, but we haven’t got a training ground. We’re training at Fulwood Amateurs and we’re getting texts each day telling us where we’re going to be.

“Squires Gate at the minute is probably looking like the Sahara desert, it’s not looking great and it’s got weeds everywhere. Some of the lads and staff have been down and it’s not trainable. So we’re having to look for places to train.

“It’s a good job we’ve got a good set of lads here who can adapt and get on with it. All we want to do at the end of the day is play football.

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“The spirit we have here with the things we have to deal with day in, day out that a lot of people don’t see - we have a great set of lads.

“We come in every day and no one is sulking. Everyone is having a laugh and a joke and working together as a team.

“That’s what we’ve got to do. Young boys, old boys, we’ve all got to step up and show people what we’re all about.

“It’s been different week and and the news was something that was very unexpected.

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“The first I heard was when I was cooking the kids’ tea. The phone went and it was the gaffer.

“I answered the phone and asked if everything was alright. He said ‘no, I’ve had to resign’. He gave me the reasons but I’m not going to put them out there.

“But I was devastated. Not just me, but every lad in there who has come in this summer and even before are all devastated. We didn’t expect it.

“He was fantastic while he was here and what he did for the club, inside and out of it, was brilliant. All we can do is thank him.

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“This is football, things change. We have a meeting in the morning and he’s laughing and joking with everyone and he says ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’. Then you receive a phone call saying he won’t.

“It’s not a nice thing to deal with but we’ve had to deal with it. We’ve had to pick ourselves up and now we’re all raring to go.

“But sadly football must go on and we’ve got a massive game on Saturday that we have to concentrate on.”