Skubala Praises Bruce Ahead of Blackpool Clash

Michael Skubala has expressed his admiration for Steve Bruce ahead of City’s visit to Blackpool on Tuesday night.

Bruce took charge of the Seasiders after Neil Critchley was dismissed from his job after a poor start to the campaign. The former Newcastle manager has won all four games he’s managed so far, including an impressive 2-0 win against promotion chasing Huddersfield Town.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Skubala offered his thoughts about Bruce and his start to life at Blackpool: “I’ve never played, managed or coached against him but he’s really experienced. You can see the way they set up, I went to watch them against Huddersfield.

“The last four games he’s used all his experience to set them up as a really exciting team. They look a hard team to play against, they’re scoring goals. It’s going to be a tough trip, a really tough trip for us. They’ll be up there definitely but it’s three points to be played for.”

Blackpool beat Burton Albion on the weekend, thanks to goals from Odel Offiah, Rob Apter and Lee Evans. Not only have Bruce’s side been free scoring, they’ve been good defensively with two clean sheets back-to-back.

Speaking about Blackpool’s form, Skubala said: “They’ve been free flowing with their goals recently, the last four games they’ve won under the new management. He’s got them set up to score, but also really rigid, really strong defensively as well. He’s got 1000 odd games experience, he knows where to put players and how to do it.

“We’re going to have to be on it, we’ll have to be great defensively and if we’re going to get anything out of the game, we’ll have to be good in front of goal to try and win the game. We know it’s going to be a tough trip as they’re flying at the moment but it’s definitely one that, if we’re on it, then it’s one we can get something out of.”