Bowyer: Seasiders' kids can compete

The Seasiders, who were among the bookies’ favourites to be relegated before a ball was kicked, have defied the odds so far and sit one point off the play-offs.

Despite losing their unbeaten home league run at the weekend with their 3-1 reversal to Wigan Athletic, Bowyer remains satisfied.

“We’ve shown we can compete,” he said. “We know what we are, what we’ve got and where we’ve got to get to.

“I think we’re trying to do the right things but we didn’t play enough against Wigan– but I don’t think they let us.

“But you’ve got to remember we’re a young team, but they had a harsh lesson last weekend.”

The average age of Blackpool’s starting line-up on Saturday was just 24.9.

The oldest player was Colin Daniel, at 29, while there were two players aged just 21: Sessi D’Almeida and Viv Solomon-Otabor.

The two players to come off the bench, Sean Longstaff and Armand Gnanduillet, are just 19 and 25 respectively.

Wigan’s bench was stacked full with experienced professionals, something Bowyer was only too aware of, adding: “That’s down to the budgets and teams coming out of the Championship but we’ve got what we’ve got and we’ve got to try and work with them and improve them and get the maximum out of them.”