Blackpool discover their FA Cup fourth round opponents after dispatching Nottingham Forest

The Seasiders sealed their spot in the last-32 of the competition with a convincing 4-1 win at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.

They will now take on a bottom-half Premier League side for the second round running after being drawn to face Nathan Jones’ struggling Saints.

The South Coast outfit, who are bottom of the table, edged past Crystal Palace 2-1 in their third round tie.

It will be the first meeting between the two sides in 11 years. The last time Blackpool took on the Saints they won 3-0 at home in 2012 thanks to a Stephen Dobbie double and an Ian Evatt strike.

Fourth round games are scheduled to be played between Friday, 27 January and Monday, January 30. This means Blackpool’s Championship fixture away to Blackburn Rovers will have to be moved.

The Seasiders collected £105,000 from the competition prize fund for their third round win. The prize money rises to £120,000 in the fourth round and £225,000 in the fifth.

Appleton will be hoping Blackpool’s form continues to improve after his side got backing to winning ways on Saturday.

The Seasiders had previously endured a nine-game winless run, a streak that sees them sit inside the Championship’s bottom three.

But Appleton’s men certainly didn’t play like a team low on confidence against Steve Cooper’s Forest side.

“From a result and performance point of view, it’s fantastic for everyone associated with the football club,” Appleton said.

“We knew it would be difficult at times against top opposition. Yes they made changes but they’ve shown over the last few months how capable they are.

“For us, there were a lot of things that had to happen. We had to compete, we had to make a lot of blocks, take the ball in the face, take it between the legs and we knew Chris (Maxwell) would have to make a couple of big saves.

“We knew we’d have to start well, which we did. But the big thing today was how clinical we were because we’ve gone ahead in games recently and not been able to get that second goal.

“I saw a sense of relief and confidence once we got that second goal.”