Will Michael Appleton give his Blackpool players Christmas Day off ahead of Hull City game?

The Seasiders are currently preparing for their crucial Boxing Day trip to Hull City on Monday, as they search for a long overdue first win in seven.

For away games like this, Blackpool often travel the day before and stay over, something that is likely to be repeated for this encounter.

But Appleton gave nothing away when probed about his squad’s training plans over the festive weekend.

When asked if his players will be given Christmas Day off, Appleton told The Gazette: “Maybe. I don’t want to give too much away with that.

“I’ve been pretty consistent throughout my career on what I’ve done over the Christmas period and it’s not gone against me too many times, if at all.”

Blackpool’s trip to Humberside is the first of three games in the space of just six days over the traditional festive period.

After facing Hull, Appleton’s men are back at Bloomfield Road for back-to-back home games against Sheffield United and Sunderland.

Facing three games in such a short period of time is not exactly ideal for Blackpool’s squad, which is already stretched by injuries as it is.

But Appleton is all in favour of a busy schedule around Christmas and New Year, insisting it gives his players a priceless chance to get some much-needed points on the board.

“I don’t mind it personally if I’m being honest. I used to quite enjoy it as a player and I don’t mind it as a manager,” he said.

“I know in an ideal world we’d all love to play Saturday-Saturday and get plenty of time to recover and prepare etc, but I do think at times it makes it quite exciting for everybody.

“If you’re a team pushing for promotion and you’ve got the opportunity to pick up nine points in a week, it does give you a massive lift.

“You look at the flipside of it, if you’re a team that is fighting like anything to stay in the league, picking up six or nine points over one week can give everyone a massive boost.”