Neil Critchley says Blackpool must build on their five-star show at Wigan

The Seasiders picked up their first league win of 2021 in emphatic style on Tuesday night, humbling Latics 5-0 at the DW Stadium.

Blackpool now face back-to-back home games against sides at the wrong end of the League One table – Burton Albion on Saturday and then a rearranged fixture against Northampton Town next Tuesday.

While Pool’s head coach was understandably delighted with the midweek win, he stressed the need to use this result as a springboard for a strong run.

“We need to back this up,” Critchley said. “We’ve got two home games to come and I can’t remember the last time we played at home in the league – it is a long time ago (the win over Hull City on December 15).

“This is a great night. We’ve put a real shift in for the last few days, so we rest, we recover and we see how many bodies we’ve got for Saturday. But we look forward to playing at home because we want to get on a run now and I think we’re capable of doing that.”

It was a near-perfect night for the Seasiders at Wigan, with new signings Ellis Simms and Kevin Stewart, and youngster Rob Apter all being handed their league debut.

Everton loanee Simms netted twice off the bench in a 20-minute cameo and went close to a third.

Critchley added: “He said he could have had a hat-trick, which shows his type of thinking. He was disappointed not to score three.

“He gets in the goal frame, he’s a poacher and he can finish and stretch teams the other way as well.

“I’m delighted for him. He made his debut in the FA Cup on Saturday and then to come here and score two goals – he’ll remember this evening for a very long time.”

Stewart was handed his debut sooner than anticipated as the Seasiders were without 10 first-team players.

The midfielder was signed on Saturday, having gone half a year without a competitive game.

Critchley said: “I’ve got great faith in Kev because I’ve known him for a long time and he’s just a top professional. He’s the type of player you want to surround other players with.

“He’d only trained on Monday and that was only a light session because we were playing the following day.

“You’d give him a bit of time normally, but the fact I know I can bring him on for 20 minutes tells you everything you need to know about the trust I have in Kev.

“I thought he showed what a good player he is and will be for us.”

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