Hughton Admits Blackpool Game Is Massive

Chris Hughton was a bit understated earlier in the week when he said that the game against Blackpool tonight was a gig one.

It`s the biggest one that Blues have been involved with so far and hopefully it will be demoted to the second most important by play-off day at Wembley.

Blues cannot do anything but win this game to keep fans happy, if they can do it by two goals then that would be even better as West Ham await the winners at Wembley.

Blues are a goal down from the first leg, it was a bit of an unlucky blow for Hughton and his side, but looking back it could have been much worse, the 1-0 deficit tonight means that the lads are in for more than just a fighting chance.

Hughton knows that this game means all to the fans and he is hoping to deliver the result that Bluenoses crave.

When asked if the game was a big one for Blues, Hughton said: ‘It is, yes because it’s the one right at this moment.

‘Certainly as a manager it is. I was involved in the coaching staff at Newcastle when the team went down on the last day of the season.

‘This is right up there. It’s a massive, massive game for all concerned.’

Hughton also pointe out that having home advantage and a majority of the crowd behind you in a packed St Andrews can certainly help spur his troupes on, the crowd is just as important as the players themselves.

He added: ‘We’re at home, we’ll have a full house and it can be a fairly daunting place to come and play for an opposition.

‘We’ve got to make sure that’s the case tomorrow night.

‘We’ve also got to make sure we give them something to cheer about. It works both ways.

‘They’re a very loyal and passionate crowd and they will get behind us and make it a very noisy St Andrew’s.

‘But that’s one side of it. The more important side is what goes on on the football pitch and it’s no coincidence we are where we are this season, that’s because we’ve deserved to be there and because we have been able to win games and play well for large chunks of this season.

‘We’re up against a very good Blackpool team and they’re a big threat. They have a lot of offensive options and have been very solid at the back and we’ll need to test them more.’