Ian Holloway declared himself proud after his Blackpool side roared back from behind to win 3-1 at Bristol City.
Blackpool boss proud of reaction after West Ham defeat
Ian Holloway declared himself proud after his Blackpool side had roared back from behind to win 3-1 and plunge Bristol City deeper into relegation trouble.
The manager felt his team suffered a hangover from their heavy defeat by West Ham in the first half, but ended up more than satisfied with a return to winning ways.
"I am proud to come from Bristol and proud that I can bring a team here to perform like we did in the second half," said Holloway, who made his name as a player with Bristol Rovers.
"Our budget is a quarter of West Ham's so why my players should beat themselves up over losing to them I can't imagine.
"It looked like that was what they were doing in the first half when our play lacked confidence and the ball kept running under feet.
"The lads should be proud of themselves for what they have done this season and by the end they showed what a good team they are.
"Brett Ormerod and Keith Southern are old warhorses, but they are still terrific players, as they showed when they went on as substitutes. We could have scored even more goals in the closing stages."
Jon Stead marked his first City start since October by shooting them ahead in the 29th minute after a good turn inside the box.
Transformed
However, the game was transformed when Thomas Ince levelled with a deflected free kick from 20 yards 10 minutes after the break, which totally wrong-footed goalkeeper David James.
Ince headed Blackpool in front at the far post from an Ormerod cross in the 84th minute and three minutes later Kevin Phillips volleyed home from close range to wrap up the points.
City have taken only one point from six games and boss Derek McInnes said: "We saw both sides of our team today.
"In the first half we looked solid and organised, but once Blackpool equalised we lost our discipline and showed why we are struggling.
"The turning point was Blackpool's equaliser and I felt the ref let us down with the award of the free-kick. But we should have defended it better.
"A lot of things are going against us at the moment, but there is nothing to gain from feeling sorry for ourselves."
