Tonight's no must-win in play-off quest says Blackpool boss

Blackpool manager Gary Bowyer has played down the importance of tonight's home clash against Crawley Town, labelling it 'just another game'.
Gary BowyerGary Bowyer
Gary Bowyer

The Seasiders take on Dermot Drummy’s men just four days after a 1-1 home draw with Colchester United which saw Blackpool drop down to 14th in the League Two table and lose more ground in the race for play-off places.

With 19 league fixtures remaining, Bowyer’s men are now eight points outside the play-off zone, although they still have a game in hand on seventh-placed Portsmouth.

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When asked if there is more pressure to get a result against Crawley because of the failure to pick up three points against Colchester, Bowyer replied: “No, it’s the same as if there were 17 games left of the season, 15 or 13.

“There are three points at stake and we’ve got to try to go and win it.

“Of course the play-offs are still a possibility and that’s what we’re working towards.”

Pool will be without midfielder Jim McAlister, who sustained a fractured tibia against Colchester following a late challenge by Sean Murray, who was shown a straight red card.

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There are also doubts over the fitness of Brad Potts, who was brought off at half-time having returned for his first game since the 0-0 draw at Cambridge on January 14.

Bowyer added: “Brad just didn’t feel comfortable enough with his leg, so rather than risk him and put him in further danger, we made a sensible decision just to withdraw him.

“Colin Daniel came on and I think he had four attempts in the 45 minutes, so that just shows you how we went about our business.

“Kelvin Mellor also comes back into contention following the loss of Jim McAlister.”

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Blackpool’s failure to beat Colchester means they have yet to win a league game in 2017, but it wasn’t for the want of trying as they bombarded the U’s goal.

Preferring to look at the positives, Bowyer added: “People will be frustrated and I understand that. We will be the same but the positive was our performance and the amount of chances we created.

“When you consider how we’ve gone about it and how we’ve brought the new boys in, I’m happy with what we’ve got to work on.”