Blackpool's players are reaping the rewards of their hard work

The goalkeeper will lead his side out at Peterborough United this afternoon on the back of four straight victories – and with clean sheets in three of them.

“In the last four we’ve done the horrible things well and we’ve been tough to play against,” said the Pool number one, who insists he couldn’t be happier.

The 30-year-old said: “Since coming here in January I’ve felt right at home and really, really enjoyed being here. It has been excellent.

“With the new manager (Neil Critchley) coming in, the owner’s (Simon Sadler) ambition and the top-drawer recruitment, it’s an absolute privilege to captain a group like this.

“The group is full of energy, talent and ability and we are all so excited with what we have going on.

“It’s taken a bit of time to find our feet but good things don’t happen overnight.”

When Pool were struggling for results earlier in the campaign, Maxwell never shied away from post-match interviews and always expressed his conviction that the club’s fortunes would change.

He added: “I said numerous times that I never lost faith in what the club and the manager are doing, nor in this group of players. You have to find a way to grind out results and win games.

“The manager concentrates on us as a group. We score as a group, and we defend and don’t concede as a group.

“It’s a real joint effort. The emphasis on hard work is there to be seen day in, day out and is reflected on a Saturday.

“Look at the games we’ve been on the wrong end of and it was always only a matter of time until the offensive side started to tick.”

Pool’s improvement will, however, be tested at League One leaders Peterborough this afternoon.

Nevertheless, Maxwell insists the table-toppers will also be wary of their visitors.

“They’ll have to play well too and there’s no doubt we are hard to play against,” he added.

“The weekend off we’ve just had is massive, and we’ll be firing on all cylinders and hoping to carry on doing the things we’ve done well.

“The break we’ve had since the last game will help us 10-fold in two or three weeks’ time.”

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 per month for the first two months. Try us today by clicking here