'We'll be picking a strong team': Terry McPhillips on Blackpool's League Cup clash against QPR

The Seasiders are in third round action against Steve McClaren’s Championship side tonight, where they could come up against some familiar faces in Joe Lumley and Bright Osayi-Samuel.

McPhillips admits he will be making a few changes to give opportunities to those on the fringes of Blackpool’s starting line-up but the Pool boss insists he won’t be making wholesale changes.

“It’s a big game and we want to win, but I’m sure they do too,” McPhillips said.

“They had a sticky start but now they’re on a good run, so it’s going to be a hard game.

“They’re in the Championship, a team who have spent lots of money but it’s another opportunity for some of the other lads to stake a claim. It’s also an opportunity for us to get into the next round.

“We want to win the game, it’s as simple as that, so we’ll be doing our best to do that. We’ll be picking a really strong, competitive team.

“I think the squad is a competitive one and I think there will be some changes for Tuesday, but I don’t expect too different a performance.”

Goalkeeper Mark Howard, who kept his sixth clean sheet of the season on Saturday, is one player wanting to keep his place in the side for the cup games.

“I love cup games, I’ve got to the semi-final of both cups,” the 31-year-old said.

“When I joined I said I want to do well in them and I want to play in them.

“I think a lot of the lads have bought into how it’s a great opportunity for us.

“If we can get a good result on Tuesday, who knows where it can take us. A good cup run gives you memories that stick with you for a long time.

“I’m a Tottenham fan and I got to play them in the semi-final home and away (at Sheffield United), that was amazing for me to play at White Hart Lane.

“The longer you stay in them it does help you build momentum. I think you can see it’s helped us in the league.

“It’s helped us get a bit more grit about us and I think we’ve taken that into the league when we’ve had to grind out that final few minutes of games.

“They’re in the league above for a reason. They didn’t start the season great but in the last few weeks they’ve turned it around.

“They’ve got some quality players who we will look forward to playing against and testing ourselves against.”