Blackpool boss reflects on Plymouth defeat

Blackpool Gazette

Steve Bruce shares his thoughts after Blackpool's 1-0 defeat away to Plymouth Argyle.

Transcript

00:00What's more concerning at the moment, the fact that teams can break you down with ease at times,

00:04or the fact that not showing that firepower, that creativity to get back into games once you fall behind?

00:11Well, unless we sort ourselves out defensively. Last year, we've only been going a month so far.

00:21I couldn't say that the team would give up on it. However, defensively again, I'm just going to go

00:28back to that because that's where we need to address. Defensively, we haven't improved as such so far.

00:35So, you know, I have to analyse myself from the coaches and ask the question of what we're doing,

00:39how can we improve? But we're not getting much response at the minute because the goals we give

00:46away, as I said, are just poor. And that has been now, unfortunately, where Achilles heels since

00:54I've walked through the door.

00:55Is that down to communication, obviously, from you to the players and then the players

00:58between themselves?

00:59Well, we can keep banging on it and banging on about it and banging on about it. You know,

01:04we've still got a week to go. Can we improve our team or can we improve the squad defensively?

01:09We've brought in two centre-halves and two goalkeepers and two new midfield players,

01:13but it doesn't seem to have changed anything, does it, just yet? So, we'll have to go to work on it,

01:18where we'll keep bashing away at it and ultimately hopefully come through this frustrating thing

01:24for all of us because usually that's the easiest part. You know, the part of creativity and wide

01:31players and centre-forwards is the hard part. Trying to keep a clean sheet for us at the moment,

01:37as it was last year, is a big, big problem for us.

01:40I know you went through a spell last year where you conceded quickly after half-time,

01:43you've done that in the last two games. Can you put your finger on why that's a recurring issue

01:47for your teams?

01:48If I could, if I could, I wouldn't be having the conversation with you, would I? It's a real

01:55frustration for us. It's a big frustration for us because, as I said, I've been gone a long,

01:59long time. The easiest part usually is defensively, but we're going to have to look at it and analyse

02:06it and see if we're going to improve. Going back to the attack, there was a moment

02:09that stood out in the first half where Tom Blockham played a ball and they were on the same wavelength

02:13as Dale Taylor and his arms went up and he was frustrated. Does that show the frustration

02:16with everyone linking up at the moment?

02:18Look, if you have to a bad start, it's a frustration. We're all frustrated with it,

02:23with the euphoria, if that's the right word, of the new players coming in and something to look

02:28forward to in the season. Of course, we haven't seen some of them still with the injuries that

02:35people have picked up, but we have to accept what's coming our way. I can understand. I thought

02:42the supporters have made that big journey down, shared their frustration, which is

02:46understandable. We have to accept that and keep working our way in the training ground and

02:52hopefully we're going to improve it. You mentioned, obviously, the new players coming in. He was

02:56backed in the summer. Have you spoken to Fiona about the start? Have you had any conversations

03:00about, obviously, with him? We have conversations every other day and that's normal. That's normal.

03:08So, you know, that would continue. Can you feel a bit of pressure on yourself after the way things

03:14have started? Listen, if you don't win football matches, no matter whether you're me or anybody

03:19else then, if that's the right word. I don't feel under pressure, but I'm sure, you know, when you've

03:25lost four out of your first five games, then I accept that I'm under pressure because I don't want

03:30my team to keep performing the way we are in terms of being a defender myself. The number of goals we

03:39give away or concede is there for everybody to see. As players, should they share that pressure as

03:43well? Should they be feeling what you're feeling? Well, it's always my fault. That's the way it is.

03:50That's the way football is. But, you know, we have to get the best out of the dressing room. As I said,

03:55we had a bit of a nervous start today, but I've seen signs where we were back to somewhere near where

04:02we were last year. We looked a threat on the counter-attack, created a couple of good chances

04:07ourselves, but it didn't take one, obviously, to give everybody a little bit of confidence, but

04:12have thrown it away within two months again of, you know, there's probably two, three individuals who

04:18you can ask a question of, which, as I said, is not acceptable. You mentioned a big week ahead

04:24before Bolton, full week on the training ground for the first time in a fortnight, so looking forward to that.

04:29Yeah, yeah, we'll go to work on it, see who's fit and who's not, and go to work on it and see if we can improve.

04:35You mentioned Ashley Fletcher, there could be Verva, but how's Fraser Oswald going back into

04:38area next week? We hope so. It's going to be a big ask for him, though, to play against Bolton when

04:44he's been stuck in a boot for the best part of two and a half weeks, so we hope that he's on the grass,

04:50we hope that he's injury-free, and something like him coming into the team, obviously, that's why we bought him.

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