Michael Skubala assessed the strains impacting on his stretched squad going into the New Year’s Day fixture at Blackpool.
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You can discuss what Michael Skubala has said ahead of this match here, and get involved with our pre-match discussion!
Injuries and Suspensions: MS didn’t commit to an outcome with regard to the red card picked up by Paudie O’Connor against opponents Northampton Town in the preceding game, stating the club were in ‘discussions’. He did feel the card was harsh as the player’s elbow had not been ‘cocked’, Paudie had been looking to compete; it was a different card to the last one (Mandroiu).
Ethan Erhahon was still under assessment for the injury he picked up versus the Cobblers. MS felt that was a bad tackle which may have been worthy of a red card as the opponent had wrapped his legs around EE in a scissoring mechanism, resulting in an injury to both his foot and ankle.
A number of other players have niggles, typical for the time of year, but they want to play so they get patched up and sent back out.
MS ruefully observed that the squad were having some bad luck with injuries and suspensions currently.
“It’s not an easy spot but we’ve got to get through it and we’ve got to try and do our best with the resources and players we have available. Try and keep putting a team out we think can be competitive in every game, even though at the moment the cards just aren’t falling our way”.
MS recognised that the club were in a tough moment, whilst remaining philosophical.
” We can still be positive, we can still try and pick up points and the lads are still in games they feel like, which is great”.
Blackpool: The biggest challenge MS has faced is not being able to work enough with the players on what he wants them to do, although he did feel there had been patches of more aggression and front-foot football versus Northampton even if the trade-off had resulted in being more open.
MS is looking to take some of the mindset into the game at Bloomfield Road.
“We’ll try and be as aggressive as we can be but with the understanding with the squad we have out, what we need to do to try and get a result there. It will be tough”.
MS is aware of the threat that Jordan Rhodes carries, the player’s main asset being his clever movement off the ball – he finds pockets of space, spins, and plays off the shoulder.
Both clubs have struggled with recent results but MS found it interesting that Blackpool tended to be good at home whilst the Imps have been doing ok ‘away’.
Writer: hulloutpost
Skubala: "We'll try and be as aggressive as we can be."https://t.co/3VBMIgDbMK#UTMP #BlackpoolFC #WeAreImps
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) December 31, 2023
