Blackpool travel to the Brick Community Stadium to take on Wigan Athletic on Saturday (K.O. 12.30pm).

Ian Evatt believes he’s seen his side step up this week following their ‘best’ training session from his time as Blackpool boss so far.

The former Seasiders defender returned to Bloomfield Road as head coach at the end of October, and has overseen three wins, two draws and two defeats in the third tier during his first two months in charge.

Currently, the club remains 23rd in the League One table, but do have something to build on heading into their meeting with Wigan Athletic at the Brick Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, having picked up four points from their last two games.

After claiming a 3-0 victory over Rotherham United at the New York Stadium, Blackpool came from two-goals down to draw 2-2 with Lincoln City at Bloomfield Road last weekend - with Lee Evans and Ashley Fletcher both on the scoresheet.

Evatt was pleased with the fight his side demonstrated, and is hopeful the return of several players from injury will give the Seasiders some momentum going forward.

“The one thing I can guarantee is, you’re going to go behind in games at some point and some stage, and you have to show courage and belief to keep taking the ball in tight and difficult circumstances,” he said.

“You have to show the intensity required to get yourself back into the game, and we did that on Saturday.

“I’m pleased we did that, but obviously not so pleased that we didn’t win, but if you don’t win, then don’t lose. That’s the most important thing, we still picked up a point against a team that are doing very well in the league.

“We’ll take that forward into Saturday. I’ve been delighted with training, I thought it was probably the best session I’ve taken since I’ve been here, in terms of the quality and the intensity of the squad.

“That’s not a coincidence as the players feel there’s now a real competition for places. We’re in a pretty good spot so we have to transfer what we’re doing in training into matchday scenarios.

“It’s all about the next game. All of our focus isn’t on where we could finish or what’s happening over Christmas; it’s the next game - which is Wigan. They’re on a good run themselves, so we will prepare for them. We’ve done our homework, as they will do for us, and it’s about who executes best on the day.”

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