I could have subbed nine players - Bruce

Steve Bruce became Blackpool boss in September

Blackpool manager Steve Bruce says he could have made "eight or nine substitutions" at half-time after his side crashed out of the FA Cup to Birmingham City.

The Seasiders were outclassed by their League One rivals before the break as Lyndon Dykes and Lukas Jutkiewicz put them 2-0 up.

Bruce made four changes at half-time and Jordan Rhodes pulled one back for Blackpool, but Birmingham closed out the game to reach round three.

After failing to get past the second round for the first time since 2017, Bruce said his players' first-half performance was "passive and lacklustre".

"We didn't make a cup tie of this until the 45th minute," the former Birmingham boss told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We were passive and lacklustre, which I hadn't seen in us before against other teams.

"To be fair, I could've made eight or nine substitutions because I don't accept that first-half performance.

"Supporters have paid their hard earned money to see their team to go on and have a proper go of it, and we just made it way too comfortable for them."