Blackpool boss Simon Grayson hopes to hear the fans in fine voice for Oxford United’s visit

Blackpool manager Simon Grayson hopes the fans keep on returning to Bloomfield Road

That’s according to the Pool boss, who wants to hear the supporters in fine voice yet again when Oxford United are the opponents at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.

Over 11,000 watched Pool beat Bristol Rovers on the opening day while another healthy crowd were loud and proud on Tuesday night in Pool’s unfortunate Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Macclesfield Town.

“We want the fans to keep coming back through the doors and create the noise they did in the first home game of the season,” Grayson said.

“But we know we’ve got a duty to entertain and to win a match and we will do whatever we can to try and maintain the start we’ve had.

“Those days of preferring to play away because of the boycott are now a thing of the past and we don’t want the club to go back to those dark days.

“The game the other night we had 3,700 here which is a fantastic crowd for a midweek cup game and it was a great atmosphere too.

“We want to try and replicate that sort of performance and atmosphere so we can all bounce off each other.”

Grayson was unable to provide too much of an update on Joe Nuttall and Spearing, saying: “We picked up a couple of knocks on Tuesday night but it’s probably still too early to tell if they will be available.

“We’ve given them the opportunity to be fit and hopefully we’ll be able to pick a similar sort of team.

“If not others will come into the team as we look to pick up another three points.

“We always say if anyone has got any major problems then we would rather lose them for a game or two than for the longer term.

“So we will assess everybody in the next 48 hours before kick-off and see where it takes us.”

One man who won’t feature is midfielder Matty Virtue, who will remain sidelined alongside long-term absentee Mark Howard and the suspended James Husband.

“Matty is making good progress but he probably won’t be available for the weekend,” Grayson said.

“I’ve seen him out on the grass doing some work with Phil Horner (physio) which is an encouraging sign. He’s another good footballer who I want to be available for the team.”