Why Blackpool’s injury problems might change the way the club recruits players in future

The Seasiders will once again be without a number of first-team players for today’s trip to Sheffield United, with as many as seven expected to be out.

It’s been a constant source of frustration for the club over the last couple of seasons, with more stringent medicals already something put in place to help solve the issue.

But Blackpool’s head coach also believes Pool need to consider recruiting players that can cover a variety of positions to help in a future injury crisis.

“The game is evolving all the time, it’s becoming bigger, better, stronger and quicker,” Appleton told The Gazette.

“We had a chat this week and it looks like it’s just one of those things we’re going to have to cope with as managers.

“You submit your players you think are going to be in your 25 and, if you’re lucky enough, you will have a certain group of players who are going to be in and around your first-team who are under-21 and are going to give you a bigger and better squad, which is fantastic. But if not, it’s going to be difficult.

“In terms of recruitment, you’ve got to be looking at certain players who can play numerous positions and if you add one or two, two or three in a squad, it might be the case where we have five or six, maybe even seven, who can play three or four positions.

“That means if we find ourselves in a position like we’re in right now then we come through it a little bit easier.”

In an ideal world Appleton would like Blackpool to recruit specialist players for specific positions, but he admits that might not be the best way forward.

“What I have done in the past, as an example, is when I’ve tried to sign a forward player I’ve always tried to sign one who is capable of playing right across the front three, rather than one who can only play centrally, the right-hand side or the left-hand side,” he added.

“We have had to do that a couple of times in the past because, with the greatest of respect to the clubs I’ve been at before, we’ve not always had the greatest budgets and we’ve had to punch above our weight and do better than we should be doing etc.

“So you have to find a way of getting that little bit of extra quality and in doing so you find yourself trying to bring in players who can cope playing in different positions.”