28th April 2000   

Seasiders preview's

ATHLETIC will be aiming to sign off in style tomorrow when they close their home season with a potential thriller against Blackpool. It is a must-win game for The Seasiders, who could be relegated if they fail to take all three points. But Athletic also have plenty of incentive after crashing to home defeats against Chesterfield and Cardiff.Manager Andy Ritchie warned that Blackpool _ three points short of safety with only two matches to go _ can expect no favours from his injury-hit side."There's no sentiment in football," Ritchie said. "We were in the same position last year and Reading came here and gave us one of our hardest games. "Blackpool obviously need the points and they will be giving it everything."But we don't want to lose our last home match of the season. We want to finish off with a win." Athletic welcome back Lee Duxbury from the knee problem which kept him out at Notts County on Monday.

Duxbury will slot into midfield, threatening the places of Phil Salt and Danny Boshell. Andrew Holt features after recovering from bruising in the tendons above his left foot. Richard Graham and Mark Innes, both of whom played 45 minutes for the reserves last night, are also named in a 19-man squad.

Athletic (from): Kelly, Jones, Garnett, Hotte, Dudley, Holt, Duxbury, McNiven, Salt, Thom, Sugden, Boshell, Whitehall, Tipton, Futcher, Graham, Innes, Walsh, Miskelly. 

Blackpool are relying on results elsewhere to save them from the drop. Manager Steve McMahon said: "If we're going to go out, let's go out with a bang." Blackpool (from): Barnes, Bardsley, Hughes, Beesley, Jaszczun, Richardson, Gill, Wellens, Coid, Newell, Thomas, Bushell, Murphy, Jones, Carlisle, Ablett, Caig. 

Athletic will parade their new kit for the first time tomorrow, while the player of the year will be announced before the game.

Full details of next term's season ticket prices will be published in the programme.

ONE of the English game’s most famous old clubs could be sent to a footballing graveyard tomorrow when Athletic bring down the curtain on their home season. Once-proud Blackpool, the original purveyors of the Tangerine Dream, are only one defeat from a shattering relegation. If Oxford win at home to Scunthorpe — a distinct possibility — and Blackpool either draw or lose, that will be that. The club people still associate with Matthews, Mortensen packed terraces, and the 1953 FA Cup final will be back in the bottom division. In truth, those black and white images have painted a grossly-misleading picture for a number of years. Bloomfield Road is falling to pieces. And, on the field, The Seasiders have been stuck in lower-division football for almost 20 years. Yet it will still come as a shock at the club managed by Steve McMahon. The former England midfielder replaced Nigel Worthington in January, but hasn’t reversed the slide which began when Blackpool lost a winning position in the 1996 play-offs. They have finished in progressively lower positions ever since — a sequence Athletic were matching until this season.

This time round, a record of only eight wins in 44 games has meant their fate is no longer in their own hands. McMahon has made a string of signings since Worthington stepped down, including three veterans he knows well from his playing days. Defender Gary Ablett (34) was brought in from Birmingham, midfield man Kevin Richardson (37) came from Barnsley and striker Mike Newell (35) returned to the league after a spell with Doncaster. All three ex-Evertonians have played a part, but it is two men on loan from Blackburn who are starring at the moment. James Thomas and Wayne Gill have added substance to Blackpool’s attacking efforts and were instrumental in Monday’s shock victory over Bristol Rovers. McMahon’s side hit back from a goal down to earn, at the least, a stay of execution. Gill and Thomas were the goalscorers, with 24-year-old Gill making it six in 10 games since his arrival.

He also set a club record by scoring on each of his first four appearances and has taken Blackpool very much to his heart. Gill said: “The players, the fans and all the staff have made me feel so welcome. “I’m enjoying it here and I really want this club to stay up. “I’ll be giving my all and we have to believe we can do it. “We will have to keep winning. After that, all we can do is see what happens.” One bonus for Blackpool is that their final match is at home to Chesterfield, who were relegated only days after winning at Boundary Park. But many of the fans who journey over from the coast tomorrow will be glued to portable radios. Although Chesterfield have gone, three more relegation places are waiting to snare the strugglers in a nerve-wracking end to the season.

Oxford are the team best placed, but their home match with Scunthorpe is followed by a trip to Millwall. Scunthorpe’s last fixture is against Burnley, while Cardiff’s game in hand is a dubious blessing — they face a nightmare week against Stoke (away), Gillingham (away) and Bristol Rovers (home). It will be calculators at the ready by 4.45pm tomorrow and Athletic — win, lose or draw — will be delighted that their own results don’t come into the equation. But if they do complete a quick hat-trick of home defeats, they will match the record of 11 which was set last season.

• Last season: Oldham 3 Blackpool 0.
• Key opponent: MIKE Newell — bags of experience gained from around various clubs in his career and just the man for a crisis.

WE’VE given ourselves a lifeline, now let’s go out and grab it!. That’s the battle-cry from Blackpool boss Steve McMahon ahead of tomorrow’s survival scrap at Oldham. Boosted by their comeback win over Bristol Rovers, McMahon’s men go to Boundary Park knowing a win will guarantee their bid to beat the drop extends into the final week. And after a half-time team-talk helped bring about a Tangerine U-turn on Monday, McMahon will again be trying to relax his players before the big match at Boundary Park. “We have got a lifeline because we played particularly well in the second half against Bristol Rovers and they’ve got to do that again tomorrow. “The result against Bristol Rovers gave the whole town a lift never mind just the football club. It gives us genuine hope. The lifeline is there,” said McMahon. Player contract talks are being put on hold until the Seasiders know their Second Division fate. “We are all focusing on the job in hand,” said McMahon.

Meanwhile Seasiders skipper Ian Hughes’ reveals the motivating factor going through his mind as he leads his Tangerine troops out for tomorrow’s vital clash – spare us from going to Exeter next season! Hughes, 25, goes into the Boundary Park battle aiming to steer the Seasiders clear of marathon Third Division treks to some of soccer’s outposts. Ahead of the game, Hughes told The Gazette the thought of travelling the length and breadth of the country in football’s basement is fuelling Blackpool’s last-gasp bid to come back from the brink. “No disrespect to the teams in the Third Division but we have all looked at the table and there are some long trips down there. The crowds will be lower and the atmosphere won’t be as good, “ said Hughes. “Even though we have lost our biggest derby with Preston going up there are still some great matches in the Second Division next season and we want to be part of that. “Burnley and Wigan aren’t certain to go up which means they could still be in this division next season. And there’s some great grounds to go to like Stoke and Reading.”

And according to captain Hughes Pool’s players are in good spirits to pull off what looked like mission impossible only five days ago. “Everyone has been on a high since we beat Bristol Rovers. We’ve taken that into training. And there’s also going to be a big support going there from Blackpool which is bound to lift the lads. “Everyone knows we’ve got to win tomorrow and then hope results go our way as well. It’s not nice relying on other teams to slip up. But that’s the situation we are in now and we have just got to make sure we do our bit,” said Hughes. Blackpool could climb out of the bottom four tomorrow if Pool win at Oldham and Oxford lose at home to Scunthorpe. But the Seasiders will be relegated tomorrow if they fail to win and Oxford extend their three-point lead over McMahon’s men. If Pool fail to win, but Oxford don’t extend their lead, the Seasiders would be granted a stay of execution until Sunday when a Cardiff win at Stoke would send them down.