Michael Appleton wants Blackpool to be 'ruthless, aggressive and brave' in the January transfer window

The Seasiders currently find themselves second from bottom in the Championship after losing 11 of their first 21 games.

Appleton’s men struggled with injuries before the World Cup break, losing four games on the spin as a result.

While Lewis Fiorini and Jake Beesley are returning to the fold , others – namely Jordan Gabriel, Kevin Stewart and Keshi Anderson – won’t be back fit until the New Year.

That puts Blackpool in a difficult position when it comes to January – do they stick with what they’ve got and hope the vast majority of players stay fit? Or twist and bring in some new blood?

When those questions were put to Appleton, Pool’s head coach told The Gazette: “It does make it a bit tricky, but I think we’ve got to be quite ruthless in January.

“We’ve got to put ourselves in a position where we get quite aggressive and brave with it. If that means big decisions and taking chances, then so be it.

“One thing is for sure, we will certainly have more time to have a look, scour and make sure we get the right players in.

“But we’re also mindful of the fact it’s very competitive and there are a lot of clubs in this division with a lot of money, so sometimes we have to be a bit clever and cute to get to the front of queues.

“Once you’re at the front of queues, you have to get deals done as quickly as you possibly can.”

Blackpool aren’t the only side in the second tier to struggle with injuries this season, but because of their lack of squad depth in relation to some of their competitors, it’s had much more of an effect.

“There is a little bit of that,” Appleton added.

“The teams with the bigger squads have more availability in certain positions, so they will be able to deal with it better.

“Obviously if you’re having to play the same players because of injuries in those areas, that doesn’t help.

“It’s a mixture of everything. There are a lot of clubs in the same boat as us. Because of the amount of games they’ve suffered a high turnover of injuries.”