Ian Evatt praises Blackpool work ethic after thrashing Rotherham

Ian Evatt said “blood, sweat and tears” were required in Blackpool’s 4-0 victory over Rotherham at Bloomfield Road.

Goals from Josh Bowler, Danny Imray, Ashley Fletcher and Tom Bloxham helped the Seasiders extend their current unbeaten league run to five games at the end of 2025.

Despite the convincing scoreline, which was aided by a second-half red card for Jamal Baptiste, Evatt believes his side were still challenged.

“It was a really tough game, and we knew it was going to be a tough game,” he said.

“I actually don’t think we started the first half that well, but we showed moments of quality to get us ahead. They’re always a dangerous side – I feel for Matt (Hamshaw) because I feel his lads had a right good go for him tonight.

“We had to win a lot of duels and a lot of headers – there’s a lot of blood in there. It was blood, sweat and tears, but that’s the way Rotherham test you.

“The players stood up to it great. The sending off helped off us, but I felt we were in control of the game, and at the end it became enjoyable.

“There’s so much more we can do, with improvement to come. There’s so much more growth in these players.

“We’re getting what we want, some of the tactical understanding is starting to come. We’re starting to trust the framework a lot more. It was a good way to finish the year.”

For Rotherham, the result at Bloomfield Road marks their fifth consecutive loss, with head coach Hamshaw left disappointed by the body language of his players.

“It was an awful performance with not enough character or leadership – it was just not good enough,” he said.

“There were a couple of decent balls in the first half, and they either didn’t make contact or didn’t hit the target. In the second half, a lot happened with the sending off.

“Just disappointed in the body language and the character, I’ve just told the players that.

“Some have had a chat back, and explained it’s not good enough. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it’s not good enough for this football club.

“We’ve got two back-to-back home games, and it’s going to be difficult because the level of performance hasn’t been good enough.

“The fans will come and be a little bit negative because of what they’ve been seeing, so we’ve got to give them something. We have to be on the front foot and win duals that we haven’t done.

“Tonight was miles away and brings shades of when we first came into the football club, and that isn’t who we are.”