Blackpool boss Neil Critchley on injury news, selection headaches and setting high standards ahead of league clash against Portsmouth

Following Luke Garbutt’s return from injury in the FA Cup win at Harrogate Town on Saturday, the Seasiders are now only missing injured duo MJ Williams and Matty Virtue.

The midfielders are on the road to recovery, providing Pool’s head coach with quite the pool of players to choose from.

“We have no issues from the weekend, so other than MJ Williams, who is back doing some running on the grass and building up his end-stage rehab, and Matty Virtue, who is joining in part of the training, everyone else is fit and available,” Critchley said, speaking on Monday morning.

“That’s how I understand it anyway. We’re not training until this afternoon so unless the physio springs something on me in the next half an hour, then it might change, but I’m doubtful it will. I hope not anyway!

“We built this squad for a reason, because of the intense run of games we’re facing in a congested season.

“We also want the players to know that training is really important, because we put a big emphasis on how we train. The players have got to know there’s pressure on performance, that’s not just in games but in training as well.

“If they want to play, then they have to train well as well.

“That provides me and my staff with some headaches in terms of selection, but it’s a nice one to have because we’re picking from a good squad of players and they have to be performing if they want to stay in the team and be consistent.”

Critchley is attempting to build a culture where every moment of training counts to ensure the highest level of performance.

“It’s something we’re building, it’s something that happens over a period of time. It’s the environment and the culture you breed every day,” he added.

“Obviously it’s been difficult to get loads of training in because of the volume of games we’ve had, so a lot of this period is about resting and recovering. It’s about finding that balance between game time, training time and recovery.

“That’s not just for the ones that are playing, but also the ones who aren’t because they could quite easily be called upon at any stage for any game and they have to be ready to play.

“I think it’s something you build over time and the players get used to the environment you’re trying to build.”

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