Blackpool have managed to find a real period of form in the Championship over the last few weeks to propel themselves up the table and show signs they are adapting well to life back in the second tier.

Neil Critchley’s side had got off to a slow start to the season with them managing to win just one of their opening seven Championship games following their promotion from League One.

That form suggested that it could well be a long campaign of struggle for Blackpool this time around.

However, since then, Blackpool have managed to now claim five wins from their last seven matches to completely transform the outlook of their season.

Wins against Middlesbrough, Barnsley, Blackburn Rovers, Reading and in the derby last time out against Preston have propelled them into the top half of the table.

This season was always going to be about consolidating their Championship place, but Blackpool might well go on to do much better than that if they can sustain their recent form.

There is a lot going on at Blackpool considering their strong recent run of form and their impressive derby day win against Preston.

With that in mind, we have a look at all of the latest news concerning the Tangerines…

Critchley backs Keshi Anderson to emerge as a major Championship threat

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Keshi Anderson has been a crucial member of Blackpool’s side in the Championship this season, after he managed to make 13 starts and 20 appearances in total on the Tangerines way to earning promotion from League One last term.

This time around, Critchley has handed Anderson 12 starts already in Blackpool’s opening 14 Championship matches.

The 25-year-old has rewarded him with some consistent performances, and he chipped in with his first goal of the campaign in the Championship in the derby win against Preston last time out.

Critchley is the sort of coach that can extract the best form out of a player with Anderson’s talent and he seems to be getting a lot out of the talented 25-year-old this season.

It will now all be about him maintaining that form on a consistent basis for them during the rest of the season.

Speaking to the Blackpool Gazzette, Critchley has now suggested that he believes Anderson has been in excellent form this season and he has urged him to add more goals to his game.

While he also admitted that should he add those goals he will become a real player in the Championship.

He said: “He’s been really good for us this season. He’s been an important player within our team.

“He’s got to add goals to his game on a regular basis, though, and he knows that.

“There was a bit of fortune with the goal. I think it was actually a double-hit as he hits it onto his standing foot and it trickles into the bottom corner.

“Keshi has been excellent for us this season, and if he adds goals to his game, then he’ll be a real player.”

 

 

Gary Madine opens up on injury nightmare following return

It has been a difficult period for Gary Madine at Blackpool with the forward having endured a difficult period trying to regain consistent fitness after he has been suffering with a persistent groin injury. He had surgery on that issue in the summer.

Madine had managed to play a key part in Blackpool’s promotion from League One with him making 15 starts and 20 appearances in total for the Tangerines with him scoring four times in the process for Critchley’s side.

However, he has been able to make just four starts and eight appearances for Blackpool at the start of this season due to his injury and fitness issues.

He finally managed to mark his return to action with his first league goal of the campaign during the derby win against Preston to get his campaign up and running.

Speaking to the media, via Yorkshire Live, Madine has now opened up on the nightmare period he went through during his persistent groin injury issues.

He also suggested that he had even contemplated calling an early end to his career but he now feels he is on the right track.

He said: “I’m buzzing.

"I’m buzzing for the gaffer, buzzing for the fans and the lads because we worked so hard.

“I think that’s us joint-fifth now and on another note, I’d like to thank the medical team because I’ve had a tough year injury-wise.

“I had an operation but they’ve kept me going and they’ve managed to get me back playing when I thought I was close to not being able to get back, so I’m grateful to the doctor, the physio and the surgeon.

“It was horrible.

“I was going for scans all the time. I was thinking I was getting back fit and then I’d hurt it again, I’d have another setback, I’d see the surgeon again. It was never-ending.

“Even now, it was hurting a couple of days ago, but I’m grateful to the medical team for giving me the right treatment and right rehab programme.”