There was a real good tempo to our play

Share this page :

Burnley came away from tonight’s friendly at Blackpool with a 1-0 win but both managers were pleased in what they saw from their respective teams.

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley, who is about to begin his second season in charge with them back in the Championship, said: “It was a strong test for us against a really good team.

Embed from Getty Images“You can tell why Burnley have been in the Premier League for a number of years now. They have some real quality, and we said to the players that if your touch isn’t right or your decision making or touch lets you down, you’ve got to work even harder to win it back.

“The strength, speed and intensity which they play at was difficult to deal with in the first 25-30 minutes, but I felt we grew into the game as it went on and had some good chances. We’ll learn a great deal from the game and can take a great deal heading into the new season in ten days time.”

Sean Dyche, speaking afterwards, claimed: “There were a number of productive performances tonight. We are still looking at options as well, to see if there are one or two we can bring in, but you can see players looking fit and there’s a nice sharpness to them.

Embed from Getty Images“We mixed the side a bit again but there was a good attitude from the start. We looked fresh and we looked at it and I was really pleased overall. There was a real good tempo to our play. We need to sharpen up a little bit with our chances because we created enough tonight but there was a real good feel to us.

“We want games that feel like that because it certainly did feel like a real game and yet again there was a nice atmosphere with fans in the stadium. It all adds to it and the build up to the season.”

He gave Wayne Hennessey his first game in goal with Bailey Peacock-Farrell having gone out on loan today. “We like Bailey and we think he’s producing and improving but we still think he needs more regular first team football. With Wayne coming in, he’s an experienced pro and he gets it and I think he enjoyed being around the group, just to get that first feel.”

One player back is Matej Vydra. He returned yesterday and the manager said: “He will do a few tough days just to bring him up to speed. He’s pretty fit because he had a period with the Czech team so we hope to get him up to speed quite quickly.”

Follow UpTheClarets:

Share this page :