Manager Gary Bowyer has been previewing this weekend’s clash with Hartlepool United and he’s called on the team to continue their consistency now.
Blackpool are unbeaten in eight game and have taken four victories in our last five League Two matches and as we go into the final run in for the campaign, Bowyer has been delighted with how the side have applied themselves and adapted to our varying opposition and even the conditions on the day to grind out results.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media ahead of the match, Bowyer explained.
‘If at first they’re not succeeding, they stick at it and keep going. We’re on a terrific run – I think we’ve only had one defeat in our last 12 – and we’re finding that consistency to win games. We’ve got to keep that going now.’
Helping that consistency in his mind is competition for places and substitutes are making their mark when called upon as well – no more so than Bright Osayi-Samuel taking his opportunity in the last match and registered a brace.
‘Bright now is full of confidence from that and he’s got to go and produce it again on Saturday. We spoke recently and we set him a target that will stay between me and him, but he’s on his way to achieving that target in terms of number of goals and number of assists. It’s an area of his game that he’s got to improve and he is 19 still, but he’s showing good signs that’s for sure.’
Bowyer could also see his options boosted by a return of Brad Potts and Kyle Vassell this weekend as well – our joint top scorers with twelve goals a piece.
‘They’ve both trained all week so it provides me with a selection problem, and it’s a nice problem to have in terms of what we do with the team. We’ll be guided by the medical team on Vass, who have done brilliantly to get him back so soon. We’ve got make a sensible choice because we want him right for the rest of the season.’
With Dave Jones now managing Hartlepool, Bowyer knows they will provide a different type of test from the one back in December.
‘It will be a different game here tomorrow, they’re going to be buoyed by about 1500 fans. They’re fighting for their lives and playing some good football. As ever, it’s about what we do and how we go about it. We’ve got to make sure that we continue on that front foot and keep the momentum going that we’ve got.’
