Neil Critchley: Every Blackpool player has a role to play during the final nine games

The Seasiders are now heading into the final stretch of the season with only nine games remaining.

Critchley’s side make their return from their two-and-a-half week break with an exciting home game against Nottingham Forest, who have sold out their 3,300 allocation.

Only a win will do for Blackpool if they’re to keep their faint play-off hopes alive, with the gap to the top six currently standing at nine points.

Regardless of what happens between now and May, Blackpool’s head coach only has good things to say about how his players have handled themselves this season.

“I’m so impressed with the players. I spoke to them all as a group and quite rightly praised them,” Critchley told The Gazette.

“They’ve all contributed and they all will contribute between now and the end of the season. Even the ones that don’t play, because they bring so much to how we train on a daily basis and that’s so important.

“The players not in the team have to prepare the ones who are in the team to play properly.

“In a few weeks’ time, it might be a case that the one in the team is out of the team and the one who is out of the team is in the team.

“The players just go about their business in such a quiet, efficient way and I’ve been so impressed with how they’ve adapted this season.

“We stayed strong until the end of the season last year when we had a really busy schedule and I said to the players I fully expect us to do that again this season.

“I don’t see any reason why we won’t, although we know it’s obviously more difficult in this league.

“We’re showing that at the moment, but as quickly as you’re on a winning run in this division you know it can change very quickly.

“We’ve just got to keep our feet on the ground and keep doing what we’re doing.”