It feels like now or never for Blackpool as Liam Rosenior and Hull City stand in the way of some festive cheer

A good number of you will be hoping your main present this year comes in the form of a gift-wrapped three points at Hull City on Boxing Day.

Blackpool haven’t won in six games, so if Father Christmas can deliver on this one it will be most timely and most welcome.

It appears six is quite a significant number for the Seasiders at this time of year as it’s also the number of years since they last won a Boxing Day clash, which came at Hartlepool United back in 2016.

Since then it’s been four straight defeats and a postponed fixture due to Covid…

I’d love to be able to provide you with some more positive and upbeat statistics, but the truth is you can only work with what you’ve got.

Now or never

Forget the festivities or Blackpool’s recent record, this is just a big, big game full stop.

Hull are the side that sit directly above them just outside the relegation zone, two points further adrift. A win is a must, a third consecutive draw will barely do.

At some point Michael Appleton’s men are going to have to start beating teams in and around them. If they don’t, it’s very difficult envisaging them getting out of trouble.

The fact that, at the halfway stage, they’ve only beaten one side in the bottom half of the Championship is sadly telling – and that was bottom side Huddersfield Town back in September.

They’ve already lost to Hull once this season, the 3-1 reversal at Bloomfield Road, while fellow relegation rivals Stoke City, Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic have all taken three points off the Seasiders.

Quite simply, Pool’s record against teams at the bottom is nowhere near good enough. Even draws against the likes of Bristol City and Cardiff City will do little to quell their fears.

Yes, Appleton has been dealt a bad hand when it comes to injuries but there’s no point dwelling on that now. Instead they’re going to have to find a way to grind out some results before they’re able to strengthen in January.

We can’t afford to look past Monday’s game in Humberside though, it’s simply that big.

A familiar face

It’s ironic that the manager tasked with prolonging Blackpool’s woes on Boxing Day is no other than Liam Rosenior, the man who made it to the final two for the head coach role at Bloomfield Road back in June before the club opted to go with Appleton.

The latter was the board’s unanimous decision, Rosenior was never offered the vacancy contrary to one particular report at the time.

The night before Appleton was being primed to be announced Blackpool’s new boss, a conveniently timed article was published in the Daily Telegraph claiming Rosenior – who was on the coaching staff at Derby County at the time – had turned down the chance to replace Neil Critchley, citing concerns over playing budget and training ground issues.

This was never the case though, it was a face-saving exercise more than anything.

The Gazette is led to believe Blackpool’s board felt Appleton’s experience of working across various leagues was something that gave him an edge over Rosenior, as well as his previous track record of developing young players – most notably at Oxford United – and selling them on for a big profit.

Changes on the cards?

Anyway, that’s all in the past now. Appleton got the nod over Rosenior and the two will now do battle in the dugout on Monday.

It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, Appleton makes to firstly his line-up, but also his formation.

Everyone knows by now 4-3-3 is and always has been his favoured system of choice, but debate has raged over the past week about a potential return to 4-4-2 – the formation that worked so effectively under Critchley – after it helped the Seasiders get back into the game against Cardiff last week.

I’m not entirely sure a change in formation would provide dramatically different results, but I can certainly get on board with the notion that 4-4-2 is better suited to this squad of players, especially with all the injuries at this moment in time.

We saw how well Gary Madine and Jake Beesley worked together in attack during the second-half in South Wales last week and we all know the former has a bond and connection with Jerry Yates when he’s played in a front two.

I’m not endorsing a complete overhaul of Blackpool’s style and suggesting they should knock it long into Madine over and over again. But a more direct approach, whether that’s long diagonals into Madine or balls into his feet, could certainly pay dividends compared to some of the pedestrian passing among the two centre halves and goalkeeper in recent weeks.

Over the last two or three years, Blackpool have been at their best when they’re on the front foot and pressing from the front. It seems silly to go away from that when, up until this season, it’s a tactic that has worked so effectively.

There are subtle changes Appleton can make when his side are in possession of the ball but do the Seasiders possess enough quality to go toe-to-toe with their Championship counterparts and play through sides?

We’ve seen it sparingly, QPR and Coventry City away comes to mind, but more often than not they’ve found it difficult creating chances and scoring goals when they’re attempting to play through the lines.

I’m no tactical expert by any means, but it will be fascinating to see if anything alters against Hull.

In truth, I’m not bothered how Blackpool play as long as they get three points. Give me an ugly performance and a fortuitous 1-0 win, that’ll do for now.