Holloway to ring changes against Middlesbrough

Ian Holloway will respond to the disappointing 1-1 weekend draw at Barnsley with as many as six changes tonight against Middlesbrough.

The Seasiders remain in the automatic promotion places in the Championship despite faltering slightly in their last two games, with the manager deciding to utilise the depth within his squad.

After an international break where players jetted off as far as Azerbaijan to play for their country, the Pool squad will be given the rest of the week off given they don’t play again until Monday when Huddersfield visit Bloomfield Road.

But as for tonight, the likes of Bob Harris, Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Ludovic Sylvestre are likely to be dropped to the bench as Pool look for a reaction to losing top spot in the league to Blackburn Rovers.

Not that positions matter at this stage of the season, with Holloway is bullish about the blistering start. ‘Two points per game is promotion form, one and half gives you a place in the play-offs, so whatever we’ve done in the first five games we have to keep going,’ he said.

‘This season we’ve had some brilliant defending and some great attacking. Despite a brilliant number of goals for and only three against, we don`t have maximum points.

‘Would I have taken 10 points out of 15 at the start? Probably, but I’d definitely have taken every performance.’

Probable team: Gilks; Eardley, Baptiste, Evatt, Crainey; Osbourne, Gomes, Ferguson; M Phillips, Delfouneso, Dicko