A big build-up for Luke Garbutt as defender finds 'rhythm' at Blackpool
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The left-back got another 72 minutes under his belt in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy draw at Accrington Stanley.
The 26-year-old had previously played an hour in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston North End last week before making his debut off the bench in the second half of last weekend’s 3-2 defeat to Lincoln City.
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Hide AdPrior to that, the full-back who joined Pool last month hadn’t seen any action since March, and with no pre-season behind him it was always going to be a case of slowly building his fitness levels back up.
While he faces competition from Demetri Mitchell at left-back, there’s every chance Garbutt could feature against Ipswich, where he spent last season on loan from Everton.
Head coach Neil Critchley told The Gazette: “He had a game last week, he came on and had some minutes at the weekend and he’s had over 70 minutes here.
“You’ve got to remember he’s had no pre-season and we can also take that into account with some of the other players as well.
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Hide Ad“We’re still finding rhythm. We’re always doing that, and six or seven months without playing games is a long period of time for anyone.
“But Luke will certainly benefit from that experience.”
Blackpool looked like being without a game this weekend until they got their heads together with Ipswich – both clubs had seen scheduled fixtures called off due to international call-ups at Sunderland and Charlton Athletic respectively.
Critchley added: “We want to keep playing games now we’re in the season. We didn’t want a free weekend. That’s why we decided to put that game in.
“We thought it was the right thing to do to stay in that rhythm of playing regular games”