Evatt bemoans key absences for Burton clash

Blackpool boss Ian Evatt has bemoaned the absences of goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell and midfielder Karoy Anderson for his side's important clash against fellow League One strugglers Burton Albion on Saturday. The pair are away on international duty, with Peacock-Farrell named among the Northern Ireland substitutes for their World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final against Italy on Thursday, while Anderson is with Jamaica as the Reggae Boys face New Caledonia in their qualifying semi-final on Friday [03:00 GMT]. As EFL rules state there has to be a minimum of three players on international duty on either side for a match to be rearranged, the Seasiders will have to do without two of their likely starters for Saturday's match which is expected to be in front of a near-capacity crowd at Bloomfield Road.

A victory against Burton would take Blackpool to within one point of the 18th-placed Brewers, with the chance to climb out of the bottom four on offer if other results go their way, but Evatt has been left frustrated with the loss of his players. "It's hard, it's harsh, at a crucial point of the season," Evatt told BBC Radio Lancashire. Evatt to avoid cautious Blackpool style in run-in He continued: "I understand these competitions [World Cup qualifiers] need to be played at some point, but we're the ones that are paying these players' salaries and have done consistently all season.

"When you lose two key members of your team for a crucial game it becomes hard to take, and a little bit lop-sided, in my view. "Maybe some special dispensation or awareness from the powers that be to see the affect that it would have on us and the game that we have scheduled with Burton. " Evatt said he had sympathy for his opponents who could also have players missing.

"I know they have got one, or maybe two [players] away as well, so it isn't ideal for them," he said. "We are where we are. Perhaps in the future we can just look at how we resolve the issue.