Barrow Boss Pulls No Punches

Barrow head coach Andy Whing has laid into his players following an ’embarrassing’ 5-0 defeat against Blackpool in the EFL Trophy.

It’s been a really poor start to the season for the Bluebirds. They’ve recorded just two wins from eight in League Two and are precariously close to the bottom two, sitting just two spots and one point above 23rd-placed Shrewsbury Town.

The Cumbria-based outfit were given some respite from their league exploits last night when they travelled to Blackpool. On the back of three straight defeats, it was an excellent opportunity for some of the fringe players to stake their claim against a team equally struggling, albeit in the division above.

It proved to be a disastrous night though, with Steve Bruce picking up a much-needed win for the Tangerines. Goals from Ashley Fletcher, Andy Lyons, Dale Taylor and a brace from Scott Banks settled the one-sided tie.

Whing Fails To Hold Back In Criticism

Barrow host Crewe Alexandra on Saturday in a game which could see them drop into the relegation places by the end of the afternoon. Speaking after last night’s hammering, Whing admitted that his players need to improve dramatically after what he described as ‘humiliating’ and ’embarrassing’:

“It’s humiliating losing 5-0. I don’t care who you’re playing against, whether or not it’s our strongest team, whether it’s a League One, it’s irrelevant. You don’t want to be losing by those margins.

“You can’t just give confidence, you have to earn it, you have to work hard for it.

“But there were one or two who were nowhere near it and not good enough, confidence or no confidence.

“There are some that try really hard but haven’t got the quality, and the ones who have got the quality aren’t doing what they should be doing, which is a worrying trend, really.

“I’m gutted for everyone. To lose 5-0 is embarrassing. I’m not going to sugar-coat it, I’m not going to make any excuses.

“We have to go to Saturday and make sure we put in some performance.”

Writer’s View

Although it’s true that most fans don’t care about the EFL Trophy, losing 5-0 at any time isn’t ideal, especially off the back of three successive league defeats. It’s becoming increasingly concerning at Holker Street and it’s hard to see where that next win will come from. Despite being at home on Saturday, they will be underdogs against Crewe, although they too are in poor form at the moment. Last night could be just the wake up call they need to kick start their campaign at the weekend.