Glyn Hodges has called on everyone to stick together in pursuit of a return to winning ways after the midweek disappointment at Oxford United.
Our manager is demanding a reaction from the players tomorrow against a Blackpool side that occupy 16th place in League One, just seven points above Wimbledon.
Speaking in his pre-match interview ahead of the home match against the Seasiders, Glyn said: “We’ve gone off track a little bit. We had done so well and we were building, but we just looked to tweak things here and there. We tweaked the formation and it worked great against Ipswich and Rotherham, but it didn’t quite work the other night. In doing that, you can lose sight of the things that we were doing well anyway. It will be a case of stripping it back on Saturday, remembering what we’re good at, and what got us away from the bottom.
“All games are targets. We don’t put pressure on our home form, but we need a reaction from Oxford and we’re hoping for a lot of positivity from the fans and everyone involved. If we all stick together and get behind the lads on Saturday we can make sure that we end up with the right result. I’m not too bothered about their form. It’s more about how we approach it and can we get back to doing what we had been doing well? It was only one game ago, so it’s not end of the world stuff, but we definitely need to improve on Tuesday’s performance.
“Blackpool have some good players. They have Gary Madine, who is an experienced player, and I always look at the opposition’s substitutes before matches. Their bench has included Joe Nuttall and Nathan Delfouneso, who previously played in the Premier League. They have experience in the squad and a lot of knowledge, so we will have to be at our best.”
The picture above shows Joe Pigott celebrating his debut goal in the 2-0 win against Blackpool just over two years ago and we will settle for a similar score-line tomorrow!
Glyn added that he has plenty of faith in new signing Julien Lamy to make a positive contribution to the cause, despite a tough full debut at Oxford.
“I felt for Julien a little bit, he was a bit shellshocked, but he showed glimpses of what he can do, and he has some ability,” said Glyn. “He will have to adapt to us and we will have to adapt to him, but that’s something that’s going be ongoing. He will get another chance as he’s a good footballer and a fit lad who is strong and ready to play.”
As we reported yesterday, Callum Reilly is back available again after shaking off a groin injury, but it’s too soon for Paul Kalambayi to return.
“It’s trying to fit the games in for Paul and it’s the same problem we’ve had with Kwesi and Adam Roscrow,” added Glyn. “The games are not there for them to get their minutes and get them up to speed. It might take a bit longer for Paul. We will see as there’s a game next week (London Senior Cup versus Brentford B). The key is making sure that they don’t break down and we have to avoid them getting injured again.”
We still have terrace tickets available for the Ry terrace for tomorrow’s game. Order now from our online ticket shop.