Steve Bruce was left impressed once again as Blackpool claimed a 3-0 victory over Reading.

Sonny Carey continued his good run of form with a brace, with his two goals coming either side of a goal from Olly Casey, as the Seasiders backed up their 2-1 win over Bolton Wanderers at the weekend.

Bruce’s side are now just two points off the seventh-place Royals in the League One table, while they have overtaken Leyton Orient to move into ninth.

Meanwhile, Huddersfield Town dropped points in their game away to Lincoln City, but do have a game in hand on the Fylde Coast outfit, along with Reading, the O’s, and Bolton - who are now in sixth after beating Wigan Athletic.

Reflecting on the game at Bloomfield Road, Bruce said: “We needed to win some games at home, and at the right time we’ve hit a bit of form. We look formidable going forward - we’re a handful, with wide players who can dribble at you with pace, and strikers who can hurt teams.

“I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing. As soon as we scored the shackles were off, and we know exactly what we’re doing.

“We couldn’t have wished for a better four days. We’ve played against two of the teams above us and beat them convincingly, so fair play to the players - they responded to what we wanted and rose to the challenge to give ourselves a squeak.

“We pride ourselves on the work-rate of the team, and thankfully we’ve got people who can cover big distances. Sonny Carey, Albie (Morgan) and Evo (Lee Evans) were terrific in the middle of the pitch. When we’ve got the threat up front that we have, and the ability to change off the bench, it makes us a decent team.

“It was a thoroughly convincing win, especially in the second half. It really pleased me that we got back into shape and made it difficult on the counter attack. When you’ve got the likes of (Tom) Bloxham and CJ (Hamilton) we can afford to defend a little bit deeper.

“If we were a bit more clinical, it could’ve been five or six, but we’ll settle for three.

“We’re in good form at the right time. We’ve worked extremely hard to get into this situation, and we’ve got a chance. We know people have got a game in hand, but at the most important part of the season we’ve got back-to-back wins against the teams around us, which can only help.”