“Even though I was a centre-back, I still loved to attack”: Ian Evatt wants Blackpool to be on the front foot

Ian Evatt insists his mindset will continue to be about getting his Blackpool players on the front foot and taking the game to the opposition.

After a promising start to the League One season, last weekend’s loss to Mansfield Town was their sixth in the last eight: a run which saw them drop to 20th.

While asking his players to tighten up defensively, Evatt remains of the view that the Seasiders’ fortunes will improve if they do better at the other end of the pitch.

“I’m probably more of an attacking coach than a defender,” he said.

“I understand the game defensively and, of course, games are always about situations.

“As much as I try and preach that it’s the process, the score will take care of itself and don’t be affected by the scoreboard, naturally you are.

“The fans are affected by the scoreboard, the players are affected by the scoreboard, so the more that we can take chances and get ahead in games, of course that relieves some pressure on the backline.”

Asked where that attacking philosophy comes from, Evatt added: “Even though I was a centre-back, I still loved to attack.

“Our fans will probably tell you that I used to overlap and underlap, get in the box as much as I possibly can and we used to play with this carefree attitude.

“Being a student of the game and studying the game, I’ve always appreciated the attacking side of it; a lot watching Pep (Guardiola) and Jurgen (Klopp), the best coaches out there really, and trying to look at what they do going forward, what our attacking philosophy and shape is.

“Ian Holloway probably nailed it when he said take everything away from the game, it’s an entertainment industry and it’s about who outscores their opponent wins the game.

“It’s not about clean sheets necessarily, to win football matches you need to outscore the opponent and that’s probably how I see it.”