Ian Evatt shares thoughts after first game in charge of Blackpool

Blackpool Gazette

Ian Evatt reflects on Blackpool's 2-1 victory over Peterborough United in his first game in charge.

Transcript

00:00Was getting the win always going to be the most important thing for you today?

00:06Weirdly, no. I think, weirdly for me, the most important thing was seeing the things that we've

00:12worked on in training, transfer to match day, and at times we did. At times we made mistakes,

00:20but we're about to today, it's two days in. The exciting part for me is when we did get success,

00:26how dangerous we looked. When we get players returned from the treatment room, when we get

00:32more training time into these guys, I know we're going to be a good team, and I'm confident of that.

00:38But for now, it's about learning, it's about growing, it's about progression, and I'm just so

00:43happy that the supporters who have travelled today, the supporters back home, who have suffered so far

00:48this season, have got something to shout about. From your point of view, is it about just not

00:52wasting time and getting straight stuck into what you want to do and how you want to play?

00:55Well, it's your only way to learn. Obviously, this isn't easy. We're two days in, in the middle

00:59of the season, and we're bottom of the league before today. So, you know, we've been chucked

01:04in the deep end a little bit, but it's great that we have, it's great that I've got this opportunity.

01:09As I said, this is an unbelievable job for me. I'm so proud to have it, and I'm going to give it

01:16everything, the rest of the staff going to give it everything to make sure we prepare the players

01:21the best way to get performances. And I've got to say, I didn't mention it which is there,

01:24I didn't mention it so far, but I'm so happy with the staff this week as well. Not just Cranes who's

01:29coming with me, but the rest of the staff have really bought into our methods, really bought

01:34into what we want. They're a really talented group of staff as well, and they've got so much to give,

01:39and it's about giving them ownership in their own space to help prepare the players win on a Saturday.

01:44And it's not just down to me and the players, it's down to them as well, and the supporters.

01:49It's a holistic thing, it's the togetherness, and if we can keep that togetherness, we can achieve

01:54really good things. Obviously, it's always going to take time for things to quit, but does that

01:58confidence of three points a day just sort of help things along for everyone in the building?

02:02You can go in one the morning with a smiley face. It should help us breathe, and it should help us

02:07enjoy tonight, which we haven't had too many enjoyable Saturday nights so far this season.

02:11But the attitude is, once we get back and we get home, you know, Sunday rest, recover, rest our minds,

02:18rest our bodies. Monday it's back to work, and it's back to focus on what we need to do to improve

02:23and get better, because we need to get better. Obviously, a player like Josh Ball are playing

02:27more central, and Ryan's part of the back three. Are you pleased with both players that have sort of

02:30gone out of their natural positions and sort of mould into something else today?

02:33Yeah, we're teaching them new roles, and we're teaching them a different way. I thought Josh was excellent,

02:39you know, you brought into everything we wanted to do without the ball. With the ball,

02:44Josh is brilliant, we know that, we know what he can do. But without it, that's not normal for him,

02:50but he did what was required. Banksy the same, Emmy Hansen the same. These lads are playing slightly

02:58our position because that's where we are at the moment in terms of squad availability. But they fully

03:03engaged, fully bought into it, and yeah, I'm just so happy and proud that we've managed to get an important win today.

03:08I suppose as a coach, you're opening six months' time, or before. I'm not saying we've phased

03:12out a position, but you've been naturally slotting all the time.

03:15Well, you know, when you get asked if you're going to the bank and opening a bank account,

03:21or trying to get a mortgage or whatever else, that the mortgage company or the banks don't say to you,

03:27you know, what do you do for a living? Oh, I'm a professional midfield player, I'm a professional

03:30winger. You're a football player. You have to play in different positions. You have to be,

03:35you know, fluid. You have to be innovative. You have to make sure that you understand where to play

03:42in different roles, because sometimes football isn't perfect. And today they were engaged and

03:49bought into what we wanted to do. They play these strange roles, but they give us everything and

03:52that's all we can ask for. You brought Terry Bond off events in the final minute. Obviously,

03:56he's doing a call from his loan. Yeah. Have you heard lots of positive things to do that,

03:59and obviously trust him, both of these shots grab you at moments? Yeah, there's a mixture of all those

04:04things. Obviously, Terry came on against Bolton when I was manager at Bolton. So, you know,

04:11I've seen him play. I know about him. And where we're at in terms of squad availability at the minute,

04:16he was the best option to get him back. And, you know, if Fletch and Blocko, who ran the hearts out today,

04:23needed a rest, I trusted Terry could go on and do the job that was required. So, yeah, it's great

04:29exposure for the young lads. The young lads that have travelled today, you know, a brilliant experience.

04:33It's a new way of playing. Playing football on Saturdays, match days where winning is everything.

04:40Academy football, sometimes it's about learning and it's about performance. Here, it's about winning.

04:46And they've learned that today and learned what it's like to be around a team of lads that have absolutely

04:51given everything to this football club. Albie Morgan was going for his scan on Wednesday.

04:55What's the results of that? It's not great. We'll probably lose Albie for six weeks. He's got a

05:02significant tear in his calf, which again, you know, we've had a lot of bad luck so far with injuries.

05:10We need some bodies back, but I'm confident the next time we play in the league, we'll have three or

05:15four players returning and then it's about us getting them up to speed. Should Michael be back to the

05:21cup after pushing protocols? I'm hoping so. I'm hoping George, I'm hoping Michael, I'm hoping

05:28we'll be back for next Saturday. Again, we know at the moment the league is the most important thing,

05:33but just having them back around the group and educating them in the way we want to play is

05:38important. So the quicker we get started with that, the better. You just find there is short of your first

05:42week, but how much have you enjoyed the process so far? Obviously, for training sessions, first game,

05:46I've loved it. I've loved being here. Everybody's made me so welcome. Everybody's made me feel so

05:53so comfortable. I feel at home. I genuinely feel like that. The staff that I didn't know prior to

05:59come in have just, you know, welcomed me with open arms. And as I said, I'm excited about what we can

06:04do here. But first and foremost, enjoy today and then get focused back to work for Monday to get better.

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