Blackpool FC: Callum Connolly discusses taking the captain's armband as he reflects on the victory over Stoke City

Ian Poveda’s early strike gave the Seasiders their first league win since October.

Ahead of the game, Mick McCarthy took the captain’s armband off Chris Maxwell and handed it to Connolly.

The defender said: “The gaffer just rang me on Friday and said I was going to be captain.

“I just said ‘thanks for that’ but at the end of the day we’ve got plenty of captains out there.

“The three points are the big thing.

“It was very good to get the win; it’s been a long time.

“The lads are buzzing in the changing room, we’ve missed that feeling of having the music on.

“At the minute we are not looking at anyone else, we are focusing on ourselves as we’re the only ones who can get us out of this mess.

“It was a great feeling to go ahead. We couldn’t take our chances to finish the game off, but it is what it is, you take the three points at the end of day.

“We’ve obviously run our legs off this season, but sometimes there’s not enough quality, but today we got it down to a tee.

“The momentum is obviously massive, in this league you need to go back-to-back with your performances, we can’t just rely on these three points, we need to pick up as many as possible.

“We are just focusing on every game, because they are coming thick and fast.

“We obviously wanted more wins throughout the season, but it hasn’t happened, so hopefully this can be the start of something good.

“We’ve always had a good vibe in the changing room, there’s a lot of honest lads there, and today could be a little spark.

“The fans were great today, and we will need them for the next 15 games.”

Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night at Ewood Park is Blackpool’s next test, as they look to build on the Stoke victory.

“It’ll be nice to come into work on the back of a win,” Connolly added.

“If we can perform like we did today against Blackburn, throwing our bodies on the line, then hopefully we can get the three points.

“We’ve been like that all season but sometimes you don’t get the luck of the draw.”