Blackpool hopeful of injury boost for Derby County’s visit to Bloomfield Road

The defender missed the 1-0 victory over Barnsley at the weekend due to a back problem.

Meanwhile, the full extent of Matty Virtue’s hamstring injury is still to be determined.

Discussing his squad options for the upcoming at Bloomfield Road, Critchley said: “We’re hoping Matthew Pennington should be fit.

"It was only really precautionary, he just had a stiff back.

"The extra bit of rest over the weekend should’ve done him the world of good.

"Matty (Virtue) is going for his scan today, so we should know later on.

"Everyone else (from Saturday) is fit and healthy- we’re ready to go.

"We spend a lot of time discussing our selection- we talk about it with our medical department and sports scientists.

"You have to pick the team that gives you the best chance of winning the game, but freshness is an important factor- especially with the way we want to play.

"It’s something we will consider before we select the team.

"We were really good without the ball on Saturday, I don’t think we conceded a shot on target in the whole game, but we defended too much because we weren’t good enough on the ball.

"We need to balance those things together, where we keep possession better but we are harder to beat.

"I take confidence in our process and how we work every day in the training environment.

"We don’t always get everything right, but over a period of time I like to think we get more things right than wrong.

"If you do that, then you give yourself the best chance.

"There’s no guarantees in football, but through our preparation, I believe our team will improve and get better throughout the course of the season.”

Blackpool are unbeaten at home so far this season, while Derby have picked up some good results on the road.

"They’ve got a lot of experience in their group,” Critchley added.

"There’s some quality players all over the pitch.

"They’ve got a manager who is very experienced in getting teams out of this division.

"It’s going to be a really tough game.

"They haven’t kicked into gear as they would’ve liked, but you could say the same about us.”