Why former Nottingham Forest defender 'epitomises' the character of Neil Critchley's Blackpool side

The right-back returned from a six-week absence through injury to start for the Seasiders during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers.

The 23-year-old slotted seamlessly back into the side, delivering a Man of the Match display and generally looking like he had never been away.

“He’s only had a week of training, so Jordan epitomises everything about the group,” Critchley told The Gazette.

“He was tired near the end but he was still battling away with (Ben) Brereton Diaz and competing with (Ryan) Giles on the side. He was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

“That’s an example of how we work and how we train the players, so players can step in if they’ve not played for a period of time and produce a level of performance that is required in this division.”

Gabriel is likely to get plenty of game time during the final six games of the campaign with Dujon Sterling out with an ankle ligament injury.

The loanee is currently back with his parent club Chelsea to complete his rehab and it’s uncertain whether the 22-year-old will feature for Blackpool again.

Elsewhere, Gabriel wasn’t the only player to star at Ewood Park at the weekend, with Callum Connolly also standing out having been moved further up the pitch into central midfield.

Charlie Kirk, meanwhile, added quality on the ball over on the left wing, especially from set pieces which is something the Seasiders have lacked throughout the course of the season.

It was a surprising decision from Critchley to drop both Keshi Anderson and Josh Bowler, but Kirk held up his end of the bargain and delivered a solid display.

“We thought he might give them some problems if we could get him into positions inside the pitch,” Critchley said.

“They give you the sides of the pitch sometimes so we wanted to create some two-vs-ones, but we probably didn’t get him the ball enough.

“But he has quality and if you get him the ball in the right areas of the pitch then he’s got a calmness, composure and intelligence to produce off both feet.

“His set-piece delivery also helped us as well.”