Squad list, playing to your strengths and disciplinary woes: Blackpool's key talking points ahead of big Rotherham United clash

As advertised beforehand, the Seasiders left four spaces free for those currently out injured to fill once they’re back fit and available.

The fact that Jordan Gabriel has been included is a welcome boost, because it suggests he’s nearing a return to first-team action.

The right-back stepped up his recovery from a long-term knee problem by getting 45 minutes of action under his belt for the development squad in midweek.

As far as I’m aware he came through it unscathed so he shouldn’t be too far away from the first-team reckoning.

But otherwise the other injured players have all been omitted for now, which makes sense when there’s no guarantee of a return date.

There’s no point registering a player who might be expected back in two or three weeks who only goes on to suffer another setback, as has recently happened with Keshi Anderson. That only wastes a space in the squad that could have been taken up by somebody else.

The only slight problem is that Blackpool have eight players waiting to be added in, but only four spaces are available. As we all know, eight into four doesn’t go.

Anderson, Jake Beesley, Liam Bridcutt, Marvin Ekpiteta, Lewis Fiorini, Luke Garbutt, Beryly Lubala and Kevin Stewart are the eight in question, for those interested.

In terms of those out injured, it’s probably a case of first come, first served in terms of who will grab the free spots.

Ekpiteta is probably the biggest name among the eight. He’s currently sidelined with a hamstring problem that was predicted to keep him out of action until the end of February, so fingers crossed he’s on schedule.

I could be wrong, but I’m not aware of any injuries to Luke Garbutt or Jake Beesley, so it looks like they have a fight on their hands if they want to feature between now and the end of the season.

As for Lubala, he was another that featured for the development squad at Burnley but I don’t envisage him forcing his way into Mick McCarthy’s plans. If anything, a loan move to non-league – where there’s no transfer window – is perhaps more likely.

Whatever happens, the club have now been left in a situation where they’ll have to pay at least four players who won’t be able to play one minute of action between now and the end of the season. That’s far from an ideal situation to be in, but there we go.

Huge game

Anyway, onto the more pressing matters on the field, Blackpool face another gargantuan game this weekend against Rotherham United.

The Millers are one of those sides hovering nervously above the bottom three that Blackpool can realistically still catch, sitting five points ahead of McCarthy’s men.

If the Seasiders have any chance of staying up, they’ve got to get moving now. A point against Huddersfield was fine in the circumstances, given they played the entirety of the second-half with 10 men, but they’ve simply got to capitalise on the gutsy way they ended the game and go all out against Rotherham.

Four points from the week would be okay and would at least keep Blackpool in touching distance. The last thing they need is to get cut adrift.

If the men in tangerine are to give themselves a chance, they need to get their attacking players on the pitch.

Yes, Josh Bowler can’t defend and he won’t track back, but he’s a matchwinner. A difference maker. Get him on the pitch and let him do his thing.

The likes of Andy Lyons, Ian Poveda and Morgan Rogers will also be desperate to start having been named among the substitutes on Tuesday night.

As the saying goes, the best form of defence is attack. Blackpool are at their best when they’re on the front foot and taking the game to the opposition.

Will they come unstuck against better sides? Maybe. But at least they’ll be left with no regrets. The worst thing Pool can do is sit back, soak up pressure and still lose and be left with an inkling of ‘what might have been…’.

Keeping their heads

Another key thing for Blackpool is to keep their discipline, something they’ve failed drastically to do this season.

Gary Madine’s dismissal against Huddersfield was Blackpool’s EIGHTH red card of the season, an unprecedented number for early February.

I’ve gone back through the stats and, more often than not, sides in the Championship very rarely pick up more than seven or eight reds in an entire season, never mind at such an early stage of the campaign.

There is the odd outlier, such as Millwall in 2005/06 who somehow managed to be shown 14 red cards, a number Blackpool are still some way away from.

During the 2013/14 season, no club in the second tier endured as many dismissals as the Seasiders with 10. Let’s hope they don’t repeat that figure this season, because it goes without saying McCarthy needs to keep a full allocation of players on the pitch if he’s to keep Blackpool in the division.

They showed great character in the second-half against Huddersfield with 10 men, and more often than not this season they’ve actually dealt with a dismissal fairly well.

As I wrote after the midweek draw, there’s no questioning this side’s guts or character. They’ve got minerals in abundance. But have they got the quality to get the wins required to stay up? That’s the million dollar question.