Blackpool boss Simon Grayson issues a vote of confidence to striker Joe Nuttall

Blackpool striker Joe Nuttall hasn’t had the brightest of starts

The 22-year-old arrived at Bloomfield Road for a sizeable fee during the summer, yet has scored just three goals in 22 games this season; only one of those coming in the league.

The former Blackburn Rovers man struggled once again in the 1-1 draw at Tranmere Rovers on Sunday, but Grayson continues to give his backing to the under-fire forward.

“I thought Joe worked hard in a position he’s not that familiar with,” the Pool boss told The Gazette.

“I’ve seen him play on the left-hand side before and we wanted to play a little bit more direct and play it up to him and Armand (Gnanduillet) to try and win those flick-ons.

“Again we saw glimpses but it’s very difficult at times for certain players to come into the team and hit the ground running.

“That’s not just Joe, that’s other players who can come into the team and not look like the player you’re expecting to see.

“He’s been struggling with a few injuries over the last few weeks and months but we seem to have resolved that.

“I thought his workrate was good and he had a go, but hopefully he feels there is still a lot more left to come.”

Pool brought an end to a run of back-to-back defeats on Sunday when they laboured to an ugly draw at Prenton Park.

While the Seasiders’ goal has been credited to Ben Heneghan, midfielder Matty Virtue cheekily claimed he got the final touch.

After a recent rest, the 22-year-old is fit and raring to go for today’s trip to Rotherham United.

“The legs are alright,” Virtue said.

“Obviously I didn’t play in the game (against Accrington Stanley) on Boxing Day so I came into the Tranmere game fresh and I felt good, despite it being a boggy pitch which really takes it out of your legs.

“We go to Rotherham now on New Year’s Day and we will rest and recover going into that looking for three points again.

“I like to say no good team loses two games on the bounce and we did that, so it was massively important we came to Tranmere and got something out of the game.”