Ian Holloway says he has told his Blackpool players to forget the financial differences between his side and Manchester City (4/7 to beat the Seasiders) ahead of their visit to Bloomfield Road.
Arguably the richest side in the world will travel to Blackpool on Sunday to take on a side who broke their transfer record in the summer with the signing of DJ Campbell for £1.25million.
Campbell’s transfer fee pales into insignificance when compared to the amounts City have spent over the past two years, breaking the British transfer record when they signed Robinho for £32million.
The likes of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and James Milner have all cost over £20million, loose change to the Abu Dhabi United Group which currently owns City.
The financial gap between City and Blackpool might be massive but in the Premier League the sides are separated by just four points.
Holloway’s men have been the surprise package this season, beating Liverpool at Anfield last time out as they moved up to ninth in the division.
Sunday’s game against City will represent another chance for Blackpool to claim the scalp of one of England’s biggest teams.
City (15/2 Premier League Outright) made a sluggish start to the season but have recently found some form, moving up to second in the league with a 2-1 win over Newcastle.
Despite Blackpool’s recent performances victory for Roberto Mancini’s side will be seen as a formality as they look to keep up the pressure on current leaders Chelsea.
However, Holloway has other plans and believes money won’t necessarily buy City victory against his plucky outfit.
“To outsiders, this will be the biggest mismatch in the history of football because of our financial situations,” said Holloway.
“But let’s see what we can do. If it was all about how much you’re on, we’d be bottom of the league by a zillion miles.
“Before Liverpool, I was reminding my lads we were a point above them, and this is a league game – we’re in the same division as them on merit.
“And I’ll be doing the same thing with Manchester City.”
Holloway will have to hope he can work his magic from the stands as he serves a one-match touchline ban for his abuse of the officials during Blackburn’s win at Bloomfield Road.
Blackpool (5/4 to stay up) fans will be hoping Holloway is the only regular face missing on Sunday as they wait to hear whether Craig Cathcart and Neal Eardley have recovered from the problems which forced them off against Liverpool.
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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he is happy with his squad and has no plans to make any more signings in the transfer window (12/5 Manchester United – Premier League outright).