• 4 days ago
Steve Bruce provides Blackpool's latest transfer update and discusses the loss of Dom Ballard after the striker was recalled by Southampton.
Transcript
00:00On Don Ballard, what's your feelings towards him being recalled? Disappointment, or do you think it's the right thing made for him?
00:05Well look, it's been taken out of our hands because Southampton have invoked it, so we have to respect that.
00:11When I walked through the door, Don Ballard was fresh and bright and I don't know whether the shoulder injury has blighted him a little bit,
00:21but since that day at Huddersfield, unfortunately, we haven't seen the best of him.
00:27Whether the actual shoulder dislocated and came out, our physios are absolutely convinced that it did and they put it back.
00:36And I think then for four, five, six weeks, he wasn't quite the same in terms of his physical output.
00:44I wish him the best of luck, he's a great kid, a great lad to have around the dressing room.
00:50He had a great start, but unfortunately in the last couple of months, we haven't seen the best of him.
00:55So the parent club have called him back, I wish him the best of luck in his future and as I said, he's a great kid to have around the place.
01:03Yeah, how tough is that, having a player who you've seen how bright he can be, but an injury…
01:07It's young players too, when you get young players, they need time to adapt and you need to bring them in and bring them out.
01:16And they come here for that valuable experience, so his parent club mustn't think he's quite ready for them just yet.
01:23And he had a really bright start with us, me in particular, I picked him in the first two, three games we played him in.
01:30That Huddersfield game, whatever happened that day to his shoulder, I haven't seen the best of him since.
01:35So I hope he gets over that and I hope he gets physically and mentally right because the kid's a very, very decent footballer.
01:43Based on what you saw in those early weeks and in training, what do you think his future is in football?
01:49He's got to stay well and fit and healthy and if he does that and stays bright, then he's got an outstanding chance.
01:55He plays for England on a 20 level, so the kid's got a real outstanding chance.
02:00You mentioned the size of the squad, how tough is that balance between trimming down and making sure you've got people to come in without trimming too much?
02:07A month ago we were about eight or ten and we found it very, very difficult to cope.
02:13And I've said since I walked through the door here, if I've got the team that I think can go and compete, then we'll be okay.
02:21If we have four or five injuries like we did to key players in that particular time, and Don was one of them, then we found it a bit of a struggle.
02:31So that tells you that yes, we've got enough bodies, but have we got enough quality when it really, really matters?
02:39And it's really difficult when you lose your best players through injury and that happens at elite level, let alone at this level.
02:47So that's the key to it. Can we bring in two or three bodies who are going to make a difference?
02:54Unless that materialises in January, then we're going to have to be patient and wait until the summer and start the recruitment process all over again.
03:05Will it become a longer term vision if this month doesn't go as planned?
03:09I've always thought, look, what's right for the club is the best solution of what I'll try and find.
03:16And of course, I've got the backing of the owner and I've got the backing of David.
03:21So, you know, we've got to try and do what's best for the club and what's best.
03:25But I won't just be bringing people in for the sake of it. We've got enough bodies.
03:30We're all right at the moment because everybody's fit and well.
03:35So we need big players to stay well and see what we can do.
03:41Is this the first real month of ripping up what's come before your time here and starting afresh?
03:47Look, I just think the club has gone in a different direction totally to where we were before.
03:54And that's no disrespect to anybody else. A lot of managers are playing three at the back.
03:59So we've equipped ourselves with maybe six centre-halves, which is obviously the reason why.
04:08Because they've played with three and they've looked for a cover and I can understand that.
04:12And then they've gone for wing-backs rather than wide players.
04:15I can understand that because the club was geared that way.
04:18It's a totally different kettle of fish.
04:21And we discussed that when I walked through the door.
04:24We discussed, are we ready for change?
04:26Change takes time and we've seen glimpses of it.
04:30We've seen glimpses of what we're trying to achieve only a week ago at Birmingham and Wrexham.
04:35And the three previous away games to that as well.
04:39What we have found is difficulty at home against the right likes of, in no disrespect to these teams,
04:44the Shrewsburys of this world and the Northamptons.
04:47We haven't done enough to break them down and create enough.
04:50And we are, in terms of expected goals, I know we shan't look at drafts,
04:55we're second behind Birmingham in chances created.
04:59We haven't taken them and that is always not a good trend.

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