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International rescue from Gorkss
IF Kaspars Gorkss is breathing just a little harder than everyone else tonight, there's good reason.
While his Seasiders team-mates have been able to put their feet up during the international break, Gorkss has played two full matches for Latvia, as well as learning that his wife had given birth to a baby son, Patriks.
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That chaotic week led many to believe that Gorkss would be left out of Saturday's clash with Palace.
After all, last time he returned from international duty, boss Simon Grayson duly left him out of the next match.
He didn't this time though – and Gorkss again expected to start at the Hawthorns tonight.
"Why didn't I give him a breather? Well for a start I felt that with the aerial threat of James Scowcroft and some of the other Palace lads on Saturday that Kaspars would be better in the air than Matt Jackson," explained Grayson.
"That's not me being disrespectful to Matt. It's just that Kaspars main strength is in the air and I felt that he would be able to cope better at the set pieces.
"But there is another reason. If I keep leaving the lad out after international weeks then it will kill him.
"He deserved to get his chance to play because he has been playing so well for us all season.
"Full credit to Matt Jackson – he was a top man with how he took the news.
Grown
"He realised what I was doing and told me that was fine and that he was here to compete in the 16 and full credit to him."
With Ian Evatt sidelined until at least next month, Gorkss has become a key man at Bloomfield Road.
The Latvian has responded accordingly, raising his game and playing as well as at any time since arriving in English football in January.
Not that Grayson is surprised. "I wouldn't say he's exceeded my expectations," said the boss.
"When we signed him I saw what he could do and what he could bring to
the football club and he has grown with confidence over the last year.
"He's settled in well and has proved to people what he can do and he can only get better.
"He is hungry to get better and playing in the national team and scoring, like he did against Denmark last week, will only increase his confidence. It also gives us good competition for places at this club which is exactly what we want."
Grayson, meanwhile, has admitted that he's delighted as everyone else about the news that Ian Evatt is well ahead of schedule in his recovery from ligament damage.
Optimistic
But the boss also added a word of warning. "It's a boost that it looks like he is going to be back quicker than everybody thought – but people can't get too carried away," cautioned Grayson.
"He is still quite a way off. He reckons he might be back six weeks in advance of the original date, but that is possibly a little bit optimistic.
"He could have complications between now and then so we have to check things and do as we see fit.
"If we have Ian Evatt back before January (the original comeback date) then it's a bonus, but the last thing we want is to have him back too early and he breaks down and is out for longer.
"We will monitor the situation closely and carefully, but obviously it has given Ian a boost because he's been able to do a little bit more work already than both he and we thought he'd be capable of."
Evatt has targeted November 19 – his 26th birthday – as his comeback date.
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Weather for Blackpool
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
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