Manager Gary Bowyer has reflected on the scoreless draw with Wycombe Wanderers at the weekend and spoken of his pleasure at the growing character within the side.
Speaking to the Official Site in his post game press conference, he admitted it had been a slow start but he was pleased with how we ended the game and he felt the side again showed that there was plenty for them to build on in coming matches.
‘I’m pleased how we finished the game as strongly as we did, the energy levels and fitness levels of the lads were terrific today following a difficult away trip on Tuesday. Whilst it was a scrappy game – conditions didn’t help that obviously – I thought we showed some good signs of character and mentality today. We had to see it out and keep going, and I was pleased with the clean sheet.’
He moved on to praise Gareth Ainsworth for the way he has Wycombe drilled.
‘Gareth has done a terrific job there and we knew that they would be a big challenge for us today. He’s been in charge of his team for four years and shaped them how he wants them. We’re only still new into it. We had the big man (Armand Gnanduillet) come on today and he’s not had a training session with us yet, so that just shows you how much work we’ve got to do yet.’
Turning attentions back to Blackpool though, he also had praise for the defence.
‘I think the pair of them have done terrifically well in the last, sort of, two games. There was Akinde at Barnet with Akpa Akpro and then you’ve got this pairing (Akinfenwa and Thompson) and Hayes off the bench as well. The two of them have done ever so well. I think the goalkeeper, the back four and the two midfielders in front of them have had to really compete and done well at it.’
He ended by saying.
‘There’s positive signs there from the battling performances that we’ve had to do. You’re not always going to be playing a game of football as free flowing as you’d like, due to the opposition and conditions. I’ve seen that we’re able to compete with that, so that’s been pleasing. We’ve got lots to build on.’
Clark Robertson was also briefly interviewed at the full time whistle, and he was pleased with the clean sheet given their front line.
‘I think Akinfenwa is the biggest player I`ve played against but me and Tom kept him quiet, as did the back four. We`ve got to be positive. We defended well, and even if we weren`t at our best going forward, we got a clean sheet and a point. It`s going to be a battle at times this season so we`ve got to try and get the ball down and play. We`ve got to get teams turned, get the ball forward and be on the front foot.’
Adding.
‘I`m enjoying being back in the side and obviously me and Tom had a good partnership last season. It`s always nice as a defender to keep a clean sheet, it`s what we pride ourselves on. I`m probably the youngest of the back four but I`ve played a lot of games so hopefully this experienced defence can stand us in good stead.’
