Blackpool striker Niall Ennis discusses his time with the Seasiders so far following his loan move from Stoke City last month.
The forward was on hand with an equaliser for Steve Bruce's side in a 3-3 draw with Mansfield Town on Saturday afternoon.
The forward was on hand with an equaliser for Steve Bruce's side in a 3-3 draw with Mansfield Town on Saturday afternoon.
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00:00At a 3-1 down and the game seemingly getting away from you, what was the conversation like on the pitch?
00:05What was it like as players being out there?
00:07Was you always confident you could get your ways back into it?
00:09Yeah, obviously you lock eyes with teammates and you like jeer each other around and it's just,
00:15sometimes you might force it in a way, like doing that, but subconsciously you start believing in yourself
00:22and I feel like when obviously you've got the quality in the wide areas, it's on us forwards to then get in the position and it paid off.
00:32Obviously being 3-1 down, I wish you played like that from kick-off, but it's football, if you don't win, you make sure you don't lose.
00:40It must take a lot of hunger and a lot of togetherness to get your way back into a game where performance wasn't really at the level you'd hoped it'd be for long periods.
00:46Yeah, 100%. It's the little one percenters of, I feel, the boys get on as a team off the pitch and that's when you show character and get results like that.
00:58I felt at the start of the game, you obviously want to win, but 3-1 down, you make sure you don't lose and you take the point and move on.
01:07You've dropped back down to League One, but already two goals under your belt, so are you pleased to be back at this level and building your way back up, hopefully?
01:15Yeah, it's just about proving my quality and helping the team I'm at. I feel like it's only the start of two goals in four games.
01:24I've felt like I've been in positions where when I get my sharpness and all that stuff, I should be getting more goals and helping the team rise up the table, which we want to do.
01:34How close do you think you are to that full sharpness?
01:38I'll see how I am when I wake up tomorrow morning, but I don't think I'm too far. It's just about getting used to my surroundings as well, obviously living in a new area.
01:49It's not just on the pitch, it's mentally adjusting, but it's not too far now.
01:54Who's looking after you off the pitch? Who's showing you the sights and helping you get through?
01:57It's not just one player, to be fair. I can't just pin it down. It's a good group and I feel like even the staff members as well. As soon as I got there, I just settled in straight away with ease.
02:09At Plymouth in particular, that's when you enjoyed a fruitful spell in League One. You had other clubs as well, but do you think after doing that with them, do you want to get back to those levels, a similar return with Blackpool?
02:20Even better, to be fair. I want to just raise my level and show why I helped Plymouth get out of the league.
02:28It's just about getting used to hitting the back of the net and just playing at a level that I feel is good enough to prove that I'm one of the better players in the league.
02:37You said you helped Plymouth up. What was the target given to you when you came in here? What was the club's ambitions for the second half of the season?
02:44I didn't really get told about that really, but with the quality that the team has, it's about, obviously as a striker, me getting goals to help the team get to them play-off spots.
02:57It's not that far points-wise and we've shown in spells that the quality is there. It's just about consistently doing it now, but just obviously getting goals, helping the team, that's the main target.
03:09How much are you enjoying working under a figure like Steve, who's someone who's so well-known in football?
03:13That was one of the main reasons. Obviously, he's got a lot of wisdom as a player and as a manager at higher levels.
03:20It's just about listening to him and the coaching staff and senior players at the club and just taking that knowledge and just applying it to my game.
03:29Your name was loomed with Blackpool pretty early on in January, but it took a few weeks for the move to finally come off.
03:35How long were talks going on between the two parties or when were you made aware of the interest?
03:39I heard, obviously, of interest before the window was open, but you don't know officially until the loan bid comes.
03:49I heard quite early, to be fair, but out of respect to Stoke, I was still focusing on that.
03:56Until you signed, you're not obviously a player of another club, so when I got called upon to play at Stoke, I was still 100 per cent focused on that.
04:04I knew a lot of interest.
04:06A few other clubs were linked as well. You mentioned Steve Bruce, but were there any other factors that made Blackpool the place for you?
04:12Steve Bruce was the gaffer. I've seen a lot of footage.
04:23I watched a few matches and I've seen that they create chances and it's a striker's dream to be in teams that create chances.
04:30So then it was on me to make sure I'm getting on the end of them. It's only the start.