Dale Taylor has scored just one goal in 12 appearances for Blackpool following his £1m arrival in the summer.

Ian Evatt has shared his excitement at the opportunity to work with Dale Taylor after completing his injury comeback last Saturday.

But the Blackpool boss has called for patience over a number of returning faces as they bid to get up to speed after respective spells on the sidelines.

The striker has had a frustrating start to life at Bloomfield Road, having missed more than two months of action due to injury.

Taylor suffered a serious hamstring issue in the defeat to Stockport County in October, which forced him to sit out 12 matches in all competitions.

But the £1m arrival completed his much-anticipated comeback over the weekend, coming on as a second-half substitute in the Seasiders’ 2-2 draw against early promotion-hopefuls Lincoln City.

It represented the first time the forward had worked with new boss Evatt following his appointment in October - just a week after Taylor suffered his setback.

Ian Evatt excited to work with £1m Blackpool man

And the head coach is excited to unlock the striker’s goalscoring prowess, starting with this weekend’s trip to Wigan Athletic - somewhere the frontman knows all too well after netting 11 times in League One last term.

Speaking ahead of this Saturday’s game against the Latics, Evatt said: ‘I think he’s a really intelligent player.

‘I think he’ll take on the information we’re giving him really well. I think he's sharp, I think he’s sharp in the mind as well as physically.

‘He knows where the goal is, he knows how to use his body even though he’s slight of stature and he can wriggle and role out of pressure really well.

‘I’m looking forward to working with him, The signs I’ve been getting on the training pitch are really exciting as are with all of them.

‘Albie (Morgan) just returned as well and the things he’s been doing are really exciting as well.

‘I think we’re getting stronger and we’re getting better and we have to sustain and maintain that over this busy festive period.’

Blackpool boss calls for patience over returning Blackpool faces

Taylor has been one of a number of long-term absentees who have returned to the fray in recent weeks joining the likes of Albie Morgan and Danny Imray.

And while Evatt has most of his injured cohort back from the sidelines, the head coach has called for patience as they bid to return to full fitness.

He added: ‘It’s difficult for those guys at the moment because we are trying to get them fit, sharp and ready again in matchday scenarios where you need to get points. And we need to pick up points.

‘It’s a little bit of patience and caution with these guys because we know what they can do but it’s going to take them a little while to get there.

‘We’ll try and get them up to speed as fast as we can, they’re working really hard on the training pitch and it’s exciting to have these players back available again because I know they have a real good quality about them.’

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