Steve Bruce hints at potential Blackpool plan for 'big' West Brom...

Steve Bruce hints at potential Blackpool plan for ‘big’ West Brom test

Blackpool take on West Brom at Bloomfield Road on Saturday afternoon.

Steve Bruce could be prepared to handle Blackpool’s next friendly against West Brom as if it was a competitive game.

The Seasiders began their preseason preparations by travelling to Spain. Since coming back, they have played both Fleetwood Town

and Accrington Stanley in private matches, which followed their match against AFC Fylde at Mill Farm last weekend.

The Blackpool manager has rotated his team a lot during the games so far, but some players have managed to play the entire ninety

minutes. Bruce may decide to make Saturday’s friendly against West Brom as close to a regular game as possible, saying, “We’ll try the

best we can, it’s a big test.” Following the recent encounter with the Coasters, he stated, “It’ll be a pre-season friendly, we’ll see what

the weather is like, but it’ll be a big test for us.”

Together with Franco Ravizzoli in goal, Olly Casey played the entire ninety minutes for the Seasiders in their match against Fylde last

weekend.

In the meantime, Fraser Horsfall and Tom Bloxham played the full game in Tuesday’s 3-0 loss at Fleetwood.

Several other players have been participating in the friendly for more than an hour and need to be prepared to advance

After missing Blackpool’s previous two games, Albie Morgan is still doubtful for the West Brom visit.

Speaking about the matter last Saturday, Bruce stated: “We’ll see how he is. It might be a little too early to assess Albie (Morgan).” He

has a slight strain, which is concerning because you always want to protect your muscles.

Fans should be able to see newcomer Michael Ihiekwe for the first time after he played an hour against the Cod Army, although it’s

uncertain if Hayden Coulson will return after missing time due to sickness.

When the Championship team visits, Bruce will be wanting to see his team improve defensively.

Ihiekwe, Horsfall, and Danny Imray, the newest addition, are all joining to strengthen the backline, which the 64-year-old has

identified as a need for improvement this summer.

Reflecting on the pros and cons of the 4-3 victory over , Bruce said: “It’s all about the first half; the second died a bit of a death. In the

first, I was pleased with a lot of aspects of us. On a hot day, Bloxham and Hamilton, with the pace they’ve got, were both terrific. The

front four looked good.

“There were a lot of things that pleased me but it died a damp squib. I disliked pre-season as a player, and I don’t like that much as a

manager either.

“Defensively—we’ll put it out of our minds. It serves as a reminder that there is still much work to be done in that area.

“We have to fix the individual mistakes that were made, but it’s better here in a friendly right now, and it doesn’t matter when you

score four. However, we can’t repeat same mistakes in major games.

“It’s not about anything apart from physical work at the moment to get the players ready for the season in three weeks. They all look fit

and healthy.”