Blackpool head into the weekend with Michael Appleton, who was appointed as manager at the beginning of the season, no longer at the helm, after he was dismissed on Thursday with the Tangerines sat in the relegation zone with 26 points on the board from their opening 27 Championship outings.
The Tangerines went into the World Cup break on the back of four straight defeats, and they have been unable to bounce back to winning ways in the second tier in six attempts since, although they did at least manage three draws in a row on their return to action, taking points from contests with Birmingham City, Cardiff City and Hull City.
Aiming to build on those results and put an important victory on the board, the Lancashire outfit then hosted Sheffield United after Christmas and fell to a 2-1 defeat, before being held to a draw by Sunderland and pulling off a 4-1 beating of top-flight Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round as Marvin Ekpiteta, Ian Poveda, CJ Hamilton and Jerry Yates all got on the scoresheet in their first triumph since October.
With renewed confidence from that victory and the need for three points to move closer to safety, Blackpool faced the tough test of a trip to Watford last weekend, and after the game remained goalless for 70 minutes, the hosts eventually went ahead through Tobi Adeyemo, before Ismaila Sarr doubled the lead late on and condemned the Tangerines to a 13th league defeat of the campaign.
Such a result spelled the end of Appleton’s tenure, and sitting level on points with their opponents and three points adrift of safety, they will be desperate to make a much-needed return to winning ways while searching for a new boss to take over at Bloomfield Road.
Their visitors will also be hoping to bridge the gap to safety, having improved their position in the fight for survival since the return to action in December.
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Mark Fotheringham’s side amassed just 19 points from their opening 20 matches prior to league action being put on hold, and they did not initially return in fine form either, suffering defeats at the hands of Sheffield United and Watford in their first games back.
The Yorkshire side would then bounce back, firstly scoring a sixth Championship win of the season in a 2-1 triumph away at Preston North End thanks to goals in the final 15 minutes from Jordan Rhodes and Kaine Kesler-Hayden, before making it two on the bounce by beating Rotherham United 2-0, with Rhodes again on the scoresheet alongside Duane Holmes.
Fotheringham’s men would then suffer a setback, falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat at home to Luton Town and dropping out of the FA Cup at the hands of Preston North End, and in their return to league action away at rivals Hull City at the weekend, they looked set to win 1-0 thanks to Michal Helik’s first-half goal, only to be pegged back by an Oscar Estupinan equaliser deep into injury time.
