‘One is dead in the water’: Michael Appleton provides an update on Blackpool’s free agent search

Appleton spoke with two unattached players the day after Blackpool claimed a 1-0 win against QPR at Loftus Road.

But one of those deals is now a no-go, while the other remains a possibility.

“One of them is dead in the water, the other one is ongoing,” Appleton told The Gazette.

“You’d think it’s an easy market because they haven’t got clubs, but you tend to find there’s still a desire to earn a certain level of money which they were probably used to two or three years ago.

“It’s almost waiting for that opportunity for the penny to drop and the realisation they’re not going to get any football any time soon and at that point we put ourselves in a good place to try and do something.”

While free agents can be signed at any time and deals don’t have to be completed before Thursday’s transfer deadline, there’s still a matter of urgency for the Seasiders given their lack of numbers.

“The issue with a lot of free agents, certainly the ones who haven’t been training, is that it’s going to take three or four weeks to get up to speed and be in a position to start a game,” Appleton added.

“They might be able to affect a game for 10 or 15 minutes and come off the bench for a few weeks, but ultimately you want to bring players in to affect your XI if you possibly can.”

Blackpool will be without seven players for today’s game against Bristol City, with Sonny Carey suspended and six others out injured.

“We’re clearly very short, certainly for the forthcoming games because we’ve got a lot of games coming up in a short space of time,” Pool’s head coach said.

“But we’ll deal with it as best as we possibly can. It’s not ideal and it puts you under added pressure to a degree, or the players, to make sure they try and stay fit and keep themselves on the pitch.

“There’s a responsibility for all of us to find a way over the next few games to put a performance in and try and get a few more points.”