Blackpool manager Neil Critchley reveals how close Dan Grimshaw was to making the Bristol Rovers game- and explains other selection calls

The goalkeeper was on the end of collision and forced off during the second half of the Seasiders’ 3-2 extra defeat to Nottingham Forest in Wednesday’s FA Cup third round replay at Bloomfield Road. Richard O’Donnell replaced him from the bench that evening, and was also on hand to start the fixture against the Pirates- making a number of important saves in both games.

Neil Critchley states Grimshaw wasn’t too far off being able to feature at the Memorial Stadium, where goals from CJ Hamilton and Karamoko Dembele helped Blackpool on their way to a rare away win.

"Dan was close, he’s much-improved from Wednesday night,” explained the Seasiders boss.

"He got a whack on his arm and it bruised, but it’s now settled down. It was touch-and-go. It’s good to have someone like Rich (O’Donnell) who can step in and play. He made some really good saves in the first half, and showed his calmness and experience after the break- I thought he was excellent.”

Matthew Pennington was also missing for the Seasiders on Saturday afternoon. The defender was forced to miss a number of games after suffering a concussion in the Boxing Day defeat to Burton Albion, but was back on the bench for the midweek FA Cup tie.

"He was fine, he’s been back in training,” Critchley added.

"Kylian (Kouassi) has been back with the group as well, so there’s only really Jake Beesley who’s injured at the moment. They will just have to be patient at the moment because it’s a tough squad to get into nowadays. These players are going to be much better for this upcoming week of training.

"We’re in a good place injury wise and we’re finding form and momentum.”

The Blackpool boss also confirmed that Andy Lyons’ absence at the Memorial Stadium was due to rotation following his contribution against Forest on Wednesday night.