Gary Taylor-Fletcher column: Blackpool can use their unbeaten start as inspiration ahead of Coventry City trip

You start to use it and you have that attitude where you want to keep the run going and take it with you onto the pitch.

Sometimes, when you go out with that desire, it can help you grind out more wins so it can definitely work as a positive.

It’s going to be another tough game for Blackpool this weekend.

Coventry City have got a strong squad but, with the desire and togetherness you can see within the squad, there’s no reason why they can’t go and pick up the three points to carry on their unbeaten run.

I was at the game against Portsmouth last weekend and, first half, Blackpool looked a bit out of shape, a little bit unorthodox perhaps.

But a few tweaks in the second half and they looked a lot better, and in the end, they were unfortunate not to get the victory.

Portsmouth are one of those sides who you think will be up there near the top come the end of the season and it was probably Blackpool’s toughest game on paper so far this season.

In the first 10 or 15 minutes it was all Blackpool but, once Portsmouth got into the game, they caused quite a few problems.

I think the crowd lifted after half-time and the players got the sense that they could have a good go, attack and hurt them and that’s exactly what they did.

I thought Liam Feeney did really, really well and I think, with a little bit more work with the front two playing together, that could prove to be a good partnership.

The one thing I would say about Feeney on Saturday is that he was playing very deep in the first half and picking the ball up a bit too deep.

It was only when he pushed on that Blackpool got the goal thanks to his good cross.

He’s a player I want to see in the final third getting at players and that’s what the Blackpool fans want to see as well.

During the second half and on Tuesday night as well that’s what he did, putting deliveries into the box which are a real threat.

Blackpool coming from behind to draw at the weekend just goes to show the attitude and desire you want from a team.

They have shown they won’t be turned over by teams, especially when they’re at home.

To get that result on Tuesday night – a 5-1 win with five different goalscorers – will have given plenty of confidence to those players who haven’t played as much.

For them to come in and produce the goods is obviously good news for Simon Grayson and it will be a headache that he wants.

When you’re a manager and you make changes in a cup competition, the worst thing that can happen is for those players to show why they’re not in the team at the moment.

But, Tuesday night, the players have come in and performed and some of those players might have given the manager some food for thought.

Some of them might have been signed before he came in, so it all helps with their progression and helps give the manager an insight to what they’re about.

It wasn’t difficult for me to motivate myself for games in the EFL Trophy, because I always viewed them as games where I could impress.

The one thing I never did was tell the manager I didn’t want to play in a game, but a lot of the time I was often rested for those games in the opening rounds or when we were playing a lower league side.

You’ve got to give players a chance and it’s a good opportunity to improve fitness.

But it’s much more beneficial than a friendly or a reserve fixture where the tempo is not as high.

These games are still first-team games, they are proper tests with tempo, tackles flying in and all that.

If you’re a player who hasn’t been playing much you want to get on the pitch, so I used to like them – especially when I was a younger player coming through at Leyton Orient and later on at Lincoln City and Huddersfield Town.

You want to play matches and you want to play football and Tuesday night showed those players do have that hunger to go and try and get in the first team.