BLACKBURN Rovers are well equipped to break down Blackpool’s mean machine.
That is the verdict of Rovers boss Gary Bowyer ahead of tomorrow’s derby clash between the Lancashire rivals at Bloomfield Road.
Blackpool have gone nearly five hours since last conceding a goal, are unbeaten at home and – most impressively – have not conceded first in any of their 12 Championship matches so far this season.
Last weekend Rovers failed to open up a Charlton Athletic side who had previously not kept a clean sheet away on the road.
But a week of hard work on the training ground and the players at his disposal has left Bowyer confident his inconsistent team can unlock the miserly Seasiders defence.
“We failed to score against Charlton and it was doom and gloom,” said Bowyer, who has lost three creative players – Ruben Rochina, David Dunn and Corry Evans – to injury.
“But it shouldn’t when you look at who we’ve got in our camp.
“People have off days, things like that can happen.
“But we’ve got full confidence and the work that we’ve done this week has been to be more creative in the attacking third.
“We’ve got (Josh) King, we’ve got (Jordan) Rhodes, we’ve got (Leon) Best, we’ve got (DJ) Campbell, we’ve got (Alan) Judge, we’ve got (Chris) Taylor, we’ve got (Ben) Marshall and we’ve got (Tom) Cairney.
“So it’s just about getting the right balance and we’ll have a good chance of scoring some goals.”
Rovers find themselves seven points adrift of the play-off places – and eight behind tomorrow’s opponents Blackpool in fifth – after suffering back-to-back defeats to Charlton and Wigan Athletic.
Bowyer said: “I’m not kidding myself, I know it’s a points industry and we know we need to get some more points on the board.
“But it’s a work in progress.
“We keep telling the players to keep concentrating, to keep working on the basics, because we’re going to go on a run soon – and we’ve got to make sure that runs starts on Saturday.”
Evans is unlikely to play again this year after sustaining ankle-ligament damage.
Rochina and Dunn, however, took part in non-contact training yesterday as they attempt to step up their recoveries.
DJ Campbell has come through another week’s full training and could be handed his first start of the season against his former club tomorrow.
Dickson Etuhu may come into contention for a place in the squad after looking ‘very strong’ in training yesterday, according to Bowyer.
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