Blackpool head coach pinpoints Stoke City's advantage for today's Carabao Cup tie

The Potters only finished their Championship campaign at the end of July, while this afternoon’s encounter will be Blackpool’s first competitive fixture since the start of March.

Despite being back in training for six weeks and playing five pre-season friendlies, Critchley believes it will be Stoke that will have the physical edge.

“Stoke were playing competitive games for a number of weeks at the end of the season, which was only three or four weeks ago,” he said.

“I would probably say they’ve got a physical advantage.

“The manager came in towards the end of the season and has implemented a new way of playing. Those players have now had time to get used to his methods and ideas, so I think they’ve got an advantage.

“They’re a Championship team, you’ve only got to look at the quality they’ve got in their squad and the numbers they’ve got in their squad – it’s unbelievable.

“We’re trying to work out who they’re going to pick because they’ve got so many players, good players as well, which means whoever we face on Saturday will make for a tough game for us.”

The injured Joe Nuttall aside, Critchley will have a full complement of players to choose from at the bet365 Stadium today.

Critchley is a big admirer of Stoke counterpart Michael O’Neill following his successful stint as Northern Ireland coach from 2011 up until last year, when he made the switch to the Potteries.

“What an unbelievable job he did for a number of years,” he told The Gazette.

“I was sat there watching a number of their games on the television and thinking what an experience it must have been for him at international level.

“As a coach I was really envious of that because for him to develop as a coach, coming up against some of the opponents he did, and some of the coaches and managers he’s been able to face in his career so far have been unbelievable.

“Now he’s taken that step into management with a great club in Stoke with a really good squad full of top, top players.

“You only have to look at their squad and we know they had a really good end to the season, which shows the job Michael has done there.”