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‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Maidstone United Preview on 08:13 - Nov 30 with 578 views
Blackpool will be aiming to avoid two cup exits in the space of a week when they take on Maidstone United in the FA Cup tomorrow.
The Seasiders welcome the National League South outfit to Bloomfield Road with the objective of securing their passage into the third round.
The potential banana skin comes on the back of Wednesday night’s disappointment in the EFL Trophy, where Pool were dumped out by League Two Scunthorpe United.
A much-changed Pool side delivered a distinctly below-par performance as they exited the competition at the first knockout stage.
Boss Simon Grayson hopes that disappointment will act as a timely ‘kick up the backside’ for his squad.
He said: “More times than not, when you look back on a game, what you see is what you got.
“It was disappointing because we lost a game of football that we wanted to win and it was a game we should have won with the team we had out.
“Scunthorpe are a decent team, an experienced team, but we still should have won the game and got through to the next round.
“You learn from every game, good and bad, wins, draws and losses, and sometimes the odd defeat can be a kick up the backside and a reminder to people that we all need to do better.
“The players have been very sharp in training. There was an edge to the players so I think they’ve got the game out of the system, which you’d expect them to do.
“You can’t affect what has happened in the past, but what you can do is learn from it, move forward and take the mistakes from previous games.
“We didn’t have a meeting or anything like that to discuss the game.
“They’re an honest bunch of players and I really like working with them.
“They should know, when they’ve not performed, that it might hurt them in terms of what might happen in the future.
“You have to see a reaction from them and everyone has been good in training and there was a focus about them.
“They’re certainly aware we’ve got an important game coming at the weekend and we don’t want to be going out of two competitions in a week.”
Pool are likely to be without the injured Armand Gnanduillet (thigh) for a third game running, but other than that, the Seasiders are expected to be at full strength.
Grayson added: “Nobody picked up any injuries from Wednesday night — probably because we didn’t make any tackles!
“Armand will be touch and go again, we’ll just have to wait and see.
“If there’s any doubt then we won’t involve him as that will give him another week to get ready for the Fleetwood game.
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Maidstone United Preview on 11:00 - Nov 30 with 569 views
Maidstone United head of football John Still on the prospect of upsetting Blackpool in FA Cup second round
ohn Still has a dream as Maidstone prepare to face Blackpool in the FA Cup second round.
Seventy-two places separate the clubs, with the Tangerines eighth in League 1 and United ninth in National South.
Maidstone are big underdogs going into Sunday's tie at Bloomfield Road, which kicks off at 2pm, but head of football Still is an old romantic where the cup is concerned.
He said: "We have to fancy it. When you do this job, when you play football or you manage teams, you've got to have dreams, haven't you?
"When you're a kid you want to play for Manchester United or Manchester City or Arsenal.
"Not many do but if you haven't got a dream..."
Blackpool have lost just their three of their 18 League 1 matches this season.
They boast former Premier League players Jay Spearing and Nathan Delfouneso and in Simon Grayson a manager who took them into the Championship during his first spell in charge.
They would go on to reach the Premier League under Ian Holloway in 2010 and are at last on the up again following a change of ownership.
Still said: "They were a Premier League club when Ollie was there.
"I know they had problems ownership-wise but that's out the way and that seems to have rekindled the club.
"I've been there, I've taken teams there, it's a proper football club with a proper stadium and they're playing winning football at the moment.
"All we can do is play to our absolute maximum.
"If that isn't good enough, we turn around, come home and we've had a great day.
"But if they don't play to their maximum as well, it might give us half a chance.
"When people people say, 'What's the best upset you've had?' I say, 'It hasn't come yet.'"
Ibby Akanbi, Ross Marshall and Jonny Edwards picked up injuries in the two FA Trophy games with Dartford and will be monitored before Maidstone name their squad.
Stones fans are set to travel in good numbers to the north west as the club chase a place in third round for the first time 1988.
They'll win £54,000 in prize money and a place in Monday night's draw if they pull it off, opening the door to a possible tie against Premier League or Championship opposition.
That would be a magic moment for Stones fans who are enjoying yet another cup run.
Still said: "One of the reasons the supporters have bought into the players is, even when we're poor, people normally work their socks off and give everything and throw themselves in front of shots.
"That's a great commodity to have.
"Sometimes we don't play as well as we'd like but it's very rare, probably once or twice, that we could point the finger and say that's nowhere near the standard of what we accept in terms of commitment."
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
A potentially lucrative FA Cup third round tie against one of the Premier League big boys is a huge incentive for Blackpool as well as non-league minnows Maidstone United.
That’s according to Pool boss Simon Grayson, who would love to see a repeat of last season’s encounter between the Seasiders and giants Arsenal at Bloomfield Road.
While Grayson is refusing to look past Maidstone, who are currently ninth in the National League South, he knows what’s at stake for his side.
He said: “It’s a massive game because of the incentive of getting through to the third round of the FA Cup.
“Put that together with the disappointing performance (in the EFL Trophy against Scunthorpe United) on Wednesday night, then it should give us a real edge to our team.
“There’s no bigger incentive than to be in the hat for the draw on Monday night and see where it takes us — because it is the exciting part of the draw.
“The club obviously played Arsenal last year and those games are great opportunities for the players and supporters to see some world-class players.
“But we play against Maidstone first which we know is going to be a really tough game.
“I’ve watched a couple of videos and we’ve had them watched three times already, so we’re certainly not underestimating anybody.
“John Still is an experienced coach who has been around the block so we know what we need to do, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves and thinking about the draw.
“We’ve got to win the game and anything after that is a bonus.”
While the cash of a lucrative third round draw could prove life-changing for Maidstone, Grayson says Pool must look after themselves first.
He added: “I think it would be the case for any club that if you manage to get through and get a big draw, the cash would become available for you to spend.
“It’s so important for clubs in League One and Two to generate revenue from a big cup tie. It can make the rest of the season, or even the following seasons, and make the club financially secure.
“Just because we’ve got a wealthy owner doesn’t mean we don’t want to get a big tie and go through, because every little penny helps.
“If you get to the later stages of the competition then it lifts everybody’s profile.
“But ultimately Maidstone is the first port of call and there’s no point talking about what might happen in the third round because we have to do the business.”
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Maidstone United Preview on 12:53 - Dec 1 with 547 views
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