Away run is key for Blackpool boss

The Seasiders have kept three clean sheets in a row on the road, earning two victories and a draw, something Bowyer has been keen to stress to his players as they prepare to visit Cambridge United tomorrow.

Pool drew 0-0 at Grimsby in their last away match on New Year’s Eve – a game they perhaps should have won – having beaten league strugglers Hartlepool 1-0 at Victoria Road and seen off Stevenage 2-0.

And Bowyer is well aware his side will have to maintain those levels if they are going to get anything from Saturday’s game at the Abbey Stadium.

The manager said: “Hartlepool away was a good battle and a good victory, and we followed it up with a good performance at Grimsby, where we just didn’t quite get the goal.

“But their goalkeeper (Manchester United loanee Dean Henderson) was man of the match and we had a stonewall penalty turned down, which they’ve now come back to us and admitted it was.

“In the last three games away from home we’ve kept three clean sheets, which is credit to everybody – not just the backline and the goalkeeper.

“We’ve got to maintain those standards and that work rate, and then just be more clinical in front of goal.

“And hopefully we will not find an opposition goalkeeper who is playing his game of the season.”

The U’s come into the game on the back of some good form. Their seven-match unbeaten run has left them just a point outside the play-off zone in ninth – two places and four points above the Seasiders.

When asked if the game against Cambridge takes on extra significance because of their respective league positions, Bowyer said: “No, I don’t think so.

“It’s three points, so it doesn’t matter where you are in the league at this moment in time.

“You don’t get added points for where you are in the league.”

Approaching the halfway point in the January transfer window, Bowyer said there is still nothing to report in terms of players arriving or leaving the club.

He added: “I think you have the initial burst in the first couple of days, when clubs make signings. But then it dwindles a little bit, ready for the 100 metre dash in the last few days, hours and minutes of the transfer window.

“But at this moment there’s nothing to report from our football club.”

Colin Daniel remains the only doubt for tomorrow’s game, the Pool boss confirming that the midfielder is likely to be out of contention for the next week to two.