A big build-up for Luke Garbutt as defender finds 'rhythm' at Blackpool

The left-back got another 72 minutes under his belt in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy draw at Accrington Stanley.

The 26-year-old had previously played an hour in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston North End last week before making his debut off the bench in the second half of last weekend’s 3-2 defeat to Lincoln City.

Prior to that, the full-back who joined Pool last month hadn’t seen any action since March, and with no pre-season behind him it was always going to be a case of slowly building his fitness levels back up.

While he faces competition from Demetri Mitchell at left-back, there’s every chance Garbutt could feature against Ipswich, where he spent last season on loan from Everton.

Head coach Neil Critchley told The Gazette: “He had a game last week, he came on and had some minutes at the weekend and he’s had over 70 minutes here.

“You’ve got to remember he’s had no pre-season and we can also take that into account with some of the other players as well.

“We’re still finding rhythm. We’re always doing that, and six or seven months without playing games is a long period of time for anyone.

“But Luke will certainly benefit from that experience.”

Blackpool looked like being without a game this weekend until they got their heads together with Ipswich – both clubs had seen scheduled fixtures called off due to international call-ups at Sunderland and Charlton Athletic respectively.

Critchley added: “We want to keep playing games now we’re in the season. We didn’t want a free weekend. That’s why we decided to put that game in.

“We thought it was the right thing to do to stay in that rhythm of playing regular games”