Murphy: Blackpool's cup tie is biggest game in youth team's history

The young Seasiders head to Ewood Park looking to reach the last four of the competition having already seen off Bradford City, Doncaster Rovers, West Ham United, Southampton and Ipswich Town.

Murphy’s team will once again go into the game as huge underdogs, but Murphy insists that won’t faze his young charges.

“It’s probably the biggest game in youth history for Blackpool,” Murphy said.

“I don’t think any Blackpool youth team has gone this far, especially in recent times.

“This match has been on the horizon for three or four weeks and we just can’t wait for the game now.

“The lads are excited and it’s a really good opportunity for them.

“These lads don’t seem to play with any pressure, they just seem to take it all in their stride.

“I could probably go in there and not say a lot because they know what’s expected - they’ve done it five times already.

“We’ll still give them all the clichés though. We always tell them to treat it like it’s their last game.”

Pool go into the game in fine form, having thrashed local rivals Fleetwood Town 8-0 last Friday.

Murphy says that win should act as a major confidence boost heading into tonight’s game.

The former Pool striker added: “Ideally, I didn’t really want to play our strongest team at Fleetwood but we hadn’t played a game for a while and some of the lads hadn’t played since Ipswich.

“We felt we had to get some minutes into them and thankfully they’ve come through unscathed.

“That performance can only be a good confidence booster for Wednesday, but we know it’s going to be a tough game.

“Blackburn are a Category One side, though we have done well against those teams lately. We’ve earned the right to get this far and it will be a good test for the lads.

“I’ve heard a few Blackpool fans will be going and I’m sure the first-team staff will be there.

“We gave our tickets out on Monday and everybody took three, though people probably would have had five or six.

“It’s a local game and the match will be at an old Premier League ground. It’s really impressive inside and out, but we’ll put that to the back of our minds and treat it like any football pitch.

“Whether you play at Wembley or on the park, it’s still a football game with 11 vs 11.”

Tonight's fixture kicks-off at 7pm and admission is priced at £4 for adults and £2 for concessions.