Bell up for Pool contest
ACCRINGTON Stanley assistant manager Jimmy Bell felt that that his side couldn’t have asked for a better Boxing Day clash than a trip to Blackpool.
The Reds were set to make the trip to Bloomfield Road as the Observer went to print, looking to begin a busy period which sees them have three games in six days, with further matches coming against Burton Albion and Rochdale.
Stanley were in 17th place in the League One table ahead of the match, and Bell was excited about the prospect of taking on Blackpool.
Speaking ahead of the game, he told the club’s official website: “These are great games, for me Blackpool are a massive club, they are well supported and have a fantastic stadium.
“They are up there with Doncaster, Ipswich, Sunderland and Portsmouth, which are all great games in this league with ‘little’ Accrington punching blow by blow with them and sometimes getting the better of them. It’s great for the club and great for me.
“I know Simon Grayson well as he lives near me and, when he was out of work, I used to see him out and about and talk to him about football. He has the winning mentality and has won numerous PlayOff finals over the years – he is a winner.
“Armand Gnanduillet has always been a fantastic talent and I think he has developed over the last 18 months and found his way. He is a goalscorer and a big threat which we will have to nullify.
“We have three games in six days over the festive period and it has been very kind to us travel-wise, with Blackpool and then two home games against Burton and Rochdale. We have a big enough squad to cope with it and we have players in form.
“Colby Bishop came off on Saturday with a bit of a back injury but we are hoping he will be okay against Blackpool. Sean McConville came off the bench after his shoulder injury and that puts the pressure on team selection which is what we want.
“Offrande Zanzala always looks hungry when he comes on and it’s great to have that when you are looking at the bench, so Blackpool will be a smashing game.
“They will be smarting from their defeat on Saturday, it’s a local derby over the festive period and we have talked about being on an unbeaten run and we want to stay on it. Confidence is high, we have managed to score late goals and we are going in the right direction.”
Ahead of the match, Blackpool were in seventh place following a defeat at home to Shrewsbury, only sitting outside the playoffs on goal difference.