Blackpool v Nottingham Forest

This is why the Championship is great: the games come thick and fast. Blackpool welcome Nottingham Forest to Bloomfield Road as they have to do it all over again in the quest for another three points and to stay in touch with Southampton.

Ian Holloway’s side (and the manager himself) didn’t have it all their own way as they struggled to overcome Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night.

Relationship between gaffer and supporters was at breaking point during the fixture as he exchanged words with fans in the West Stand after substituting Jonjo Shelvey.

Maybe there needs to be a message board meeting with the manager instead of the Chairman in future.

To the manager’s credit though, his triple change early in the second half turned the game on its head and given his record as Pool boss, he shouldn’t be held to questioning.

But with all that forgotten (possibly, maybe…) they turn their attentions to Forest, who began life with Steve Cotterill on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough.

Vital Quotes:

Holloway spoke about Tuesday’s frustrations ahead of the game:

‘How dare we go 1-0 down on Tuesday and not play so well. Their manager (Dean Saunders) came to stop us. He man-marked our midfield and then they scored.

‘I thought it was a fantastic comeback from us. The lads who came off the bench made a difference.

‘The boys didn’t play very well but they managed to show enough skill and character to win in the final seconds, and after what had happened at West Ham that was a big ask.

‘Someone said to me afterwards, ‘You were lucky’. Well, not really. I had to draw on every single ounce of knowledge I have accumulated in 30-odd years in the game. I changed to a shape I don`t like in order to hurt Doncaster because they had blocked us up in the midfield, and what I did worked.

‘People can pay their money and do what they want, but there are things which need to be remembered.

‘Unfortunately some people have very short memories and there is so much expectation now.’

Steve Cotterill chose to talk about Lewis McGugan ahead of the game:

‘If he plays like that every week, he will be in the Premier League. That is how good he is,’ said Cotterill.

‘I have had more conversations about Lewis, since I took over this job, than anyone else.

‘That is a credit to the boy because everyone knows what a good player he is.

‘We just have to make sure that he is always fit. That is going to be important, because he is a big strong boy.

‘He has a big build to him and sometimes he can look a touch overweight.

‘We have to make sure he stays fit and plays games.

‘It would have been nice to have him in pre-season to get him fit, because pre-season always gives you a good base.

‘He was fantastic on Tuesday night – along with all the others, by the way.’

Blackpool Team News:

Tom Ince and Callum McManaman are both pushing for starts after both playing brilliantly in the week.

It’s likely that Ollie will opt for one of the two to start the game – probably Ince.

Lomana Lua Lua is ‘three weeks away’ from being fully match fit according to the manager.

Craig Cathcart and Alex Baptiste should partner eachother in the heart of defence but it’s anyone’s guess what team will be picked.

Player to watch: Barry Ferguson

Sections of the Blackpool support unbelievably struggle to see what Ferguson brings to the side.

Although he’s getting better and better, the captain needs a barnstorming performance in midfield to win over the critics.

Nottingham Forest Team News:

Paul Anderson, Dexter Blackstock, George Boateng, Chris Cohen, Joel Lynch and Garath McCleary remain sidelined.

Player to watch: Matt Derbyshire

As reported on Vital Blackpool back in the summer, Matt Derbyshire was very keen to join the Seasiders.

For one reason or another he signed for Forest and has so far found it difficult to hit the net on a regular basis – scoring just once in 10 games.

It’d be sods law…