Matty Virtue hopeful of long-awaited Blackpool comeback in EFL Trophy tie at Fleetwood

A hamstring injury means Virtue has only made one appearance this season, the Carabao Cup tie with Stoke City.

Getting back on the pitch is only the start for the 23-year-old, who said: “I should hopefully be involved in some part on Tuesday.

“It’s been really stop-start for me, to hopefully get some minutes would be a bonus and then I can build on that.

“We take things game to game and it’s another game that we want to win.

“It being against Fleetwood only makes it more competitive and we want to go and beat them again.

“It gives those that maybe haven’t featured as much a game and we want to keep the good momentum up that we have at the minute.”

The Papa John’s Trophy can be low down on some clubs’ agendas but that isn’t the case for Blackpool, who are seeking a quick double over Fleetwood after last Saturday’s league win.

Virtue said: “We go into every game wanting to win and this is no different.

“I also think this is a massive game for the squad.

“We have a big squad and everyone wants to get minutes, and if we keep winning games like these, it gives the whole squad the chance to play.

“At the start of the season, some of our performances were really good, we just probably weren’t getting the results we deserved.

“Recently we’ve had a bit of a mix, we’ve played really well and got results but we’ve also got results when we haven’t really been at it too, so everyone is really happy.

“I’m not sure what their manager is going to do with their team, after getting beaten he might want to go and put down a marker and show that’s not what they’re about.

“If they do that then bring it on, we’ve got a good squad and I think we can go and show another performance.”