'I don't know how to feel' - Past Blackpool problems cast shadow but there's plenty to be hopeful about

Opinion: It’s hard to know how to feel as Blackpool’s first EFL game approaches.

A part of this may be the fact that the Carabao Cup kicks things off. It just doesn’t have the same feeling to it as the opening league game, but hopefully once we’re at Grimsby Town away it won’t just feel like an extension of pre-season.

The real reason that makes it currently hard to know what to expect this term is the fact the Seasiders have been burnt before.

There's a mindset change at Bloomfield Road because of the injury crises of recent times. You could have four players for each position and still feel short - that’s been the nature of the bad luck.

Would that feeling be different if it wasn’t for certain players missing chunks of this summer’s pre-season friendlies? - Yes.

Obviously seeing various numbers missing is going to make you uneasy, especially if they’re now heading into the actual campaign with limited minutes under their belt.

There could be some people playing catch up early on, and that’s always a concern.

If we take a step back from past fears, there’s still plenty to be more optimistic about.

Fitness was called into question at times last term, but the levels of those who have played certainly seem to be high this time around.

Meanwhile, on the transfer front, each signing has improved the squad without doubt.

Dion Charles has been poor for Huddersfield Town in recent times, but was a proven League One scorer prior to that, especially under Ian Evatt at Bolton Wanderers.

On paper, there’s goals there with the Terriers loan alongside Niall Ennis, Dale Taylor and Tom Bloxham - it’s just about that turning into reality.

Second signing Ilmari Niskanen enjoyed a good individual season in a poor Exeter City side, and should automatically improve the wide areas.

Blackpool know exactly what they’re getting from Karoy Anderson after his successful loan spell, with credit deserved for making that permanent, while Jordan Williams is a player who can take on a number of positions and comes with Championship experience.

The only criticism on the transfer front is that there’s not been more, but the stuff that has been done, has been good.

It’s strange that a James Husband replacement on the left side of defence wasn’t at the top of the wish list, as that area has probably been the clearest hole throughout the summer.

Something the Seasiders do have is a group of players that can play to a high standard on their day.

The spells over Christmas and at the end of the season demonstrated the levels this group can reach, with some really good players already at the club.

Unfortunately, when they didn’t deliver, it was quite the fall off. It was truly Jekyll and Hyde at some points.

Hopefully a full pre-season of Evatt imposing the full extent of his ideas will mean we’ll see more of the positives than the negatives.

Obviously results in the friendlies weren’t pretty reading against lower league opposition, but they’re results that mean nothing. As long as the players got what they needed from those outings, that’s the main thing, and the next few weeks is when we can truly start to judge them off the full time scoreline.

Is it right to feel cautious? - Absolutely, but it shouldn’t outweigh that feeling of excitement that comes with the start of a new season.

This is the team that did something special to secure survival back in May, but by the same time next year, that achievement will hopefully be something more befitting.