EPL News: Holloway praises his team as Ancelotti terms Sunderland loss a bad day
Ian Holloway has come out and insisted that he and he alone should have the decision to select Blackpool’s starting line up for their Premier League matches. These comments have come into focus after Blackpool drew nil all against West
Ham United but the Seasiders might be penalized for their ten changes that they made in their mid-week match against Aston Villa by the Football Association.
Blackpool’s manager defended his right to make changes by using the 25 man squad that is available to him. Tangerines said, "I should be able to do it whenever I want. Before Christmas we have got three games in seven days. We are finding
that there is the physical side of it, but there is also the mental pressure of it, just dealing with missing a chance. I am very proud of them because it is a big adjustment and some teams can't cope with it. Luckily we are out of the bottom three; otherwise
the pressure would be even more immense. I want to keep that pressure off my lads."
Holloway also went onto speak about Blackpool’s experience up till now in the English Premier league. On the issue Ian stated, "I am delighted to be at this level and we are playing some brilliant stuff. I don't want my lads ridiculed,
I take it personally. It is very easy to ignore how we are playing the game and write about other things. I have got to learn. I should be calm at all times, but I am not and I am a horrible little bugger when I don't get what I want. I didn't feel my lads
deserved the stick they got [after the Villa game] and I took it as an insult. I should have said things calmly."
No one thought that Blackpool would actually do well in the Premier League after they qualified for the top division of league football in England as they defeated Cardiff City in their play-off match last season. Holloway played up his
team’s chances of inflicting more shock defeats to giants of English football as he said, "I see them day in, day out and have been promising them that if they keep doing what they are doing they will get a chance. We play each other in training, reserves
versus first team, and they have won a couple, so how bad are they? I have been working them for 12 weeks and I work all my team together. There is not a 'them' and an 'us'.”
He added, "I work every one of them so they are all part of it and I have to disappoint them by picking the same ones every time because results were going so well. I wanted to be loyal to my lads because they are loyal to me. Every day
I go in they are brilliant. I have been a man of my word now because I have given them a chance and they have surprised everyone, except me, because I knew how good they were."
On the other hand, Ancelotti lamented the fact that Chelsea lost to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge by three goals to nil. The Italian manager said, "Everything went wrong, we didn't play well or how we wanted. Sunderland played with fantastic
spirit, fantastic pressure, they played well. It was a bad day. We were not able to play our football, just 15 minutes in the first half. Everything was difficult today, it was a strange performance. We were in a good moment but now we have to come back and
stay focused on the next game."
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