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Dickov's return sees tide turn for Seasiders

The return of Paul Dickov saw the Seasiders return to winning ways in the nick of time last weekend, as they held out for a narrow win against relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Bloomfield Road.

It was Dickov's form following his arrival at the Seaside, and the effect it had on the team and the results, that led to fans dreaming of the play-offs a few weeks ago, until he injured a hamstring.

Pool then went on a run of eight games without a win and sank deep into a relegation dog-fight.

Saturday's win, which came courtesy of first half strikes from Claus Jorgensen and a left foot screamer from Dickov, was yet another example of how this team rises to the occasion.

When the chips were down, the players produced the performance and the result that was required. But you wonder how it would have worked out had Dickov not made his return for this game.

It doesn't really bear thinking about.

A defeat or a draw would have left the team very vulnerable at the bottom end of the table.

The three points have not by any means guaranteed survival, but there are several teams below Blackpool who are all trying to avoid the one remaining relegation place, which is now occupied by Wednesday, who are four points adrift of the Seasiders.

His imprint on the game was typical, scoring the winning goal and being involved in the incident which led to Wednesday being reduced to ten men when full back Peter Gilbert saw red and got into a tete-a-tete with Blackpool's combative front man.

The Owls' ten men made a huge effort late in the game to grab an equaliser but on this occasion the Seasiders, who have surrendered leads rather too often this term, held firm.

The biggest scare for the petrified home fans came in injury time when Paul Rachubka made a fine save from Deon's Burton's well hit shot.

There are enough teams below the Seasiders to suggest that only a remarkable set of results over the remaining two weekends would lead to them going down, but it is still a possibility, so the players will need to be focussed on getting a result this Saturday when they travel down to Plymouth.

Simon Grayson brought Claus Jorgensen and Paul Dickov back into the side in place of Michael Flynn and Ben Burgess for the Wednesday game and, apart from spells of pressure early and late in the game, the Seasiders played well enough to deserve the points.

Which means the manager will probably stick with the same eleven for the Plymouth trip, provided they all report fit.

Plymouth have nothing but pride left to play for after their home draw with Preston last Saturday left them adrift in mid-table, with no hope of making the play-offs.

A last minute equaliser from Preston's Richard Chaplow may well have left them deflated and the Seasiders will seek to take advantage of that as they seek to gain the points to finally secure their Championship status.

Simon Grayson will not be thinking about next season until that happens, including the issue of whether Paul Dickov will be offered a contract following his successful loan spell from Manchester City.

Dickov has shown what is required in this division in attacking terms, and has made a huge contribution to the campaign despite only starting six games, including six priceless goals.

If the Seasiders stay up, it could be argued that it was Dickov's arrival in January that made the crucial difference.

The team will end the season a week on Sunday, kick-off 2pm, at home to promotion chasing Watford, in front of another full house. The game has already sold out.

The plans for next season must surely include an increase in the capacity at Bloomfield Road, for both home and away fans, if the club is going to be able to accommodate the numbers needed to fund further progress.

9:49am Wednesday 23rd April 2008

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