Blackpool has been focusing on the January transfer window, but there’s no guarantee of new players joining.
Planning for the January transfer window is well underway at Bloomfield Road, according to Neil Critchley, as Blackpool looks to bolster their lineup for the second half of the season.
Weekly recruitment meetings have been held, according to the Seasiders manager, as considerations turn to what might be required to maintain a promotion challenge. When the window opens on January 1, those preparatory steps ought to enable the Seasiders to take prompt action, if necessary.
After a summer recruitment process that saw twelve new recruits arrive at Bloomfield Road, Critchley was clear that no new arrivals were guaranteed. He made it clear that, in fact, he would prefer to search within his own ranks for answers rather than instinctively seeking outside assistance. And after watching his team defeat Portsmouth 4-0 at Fratton Park on Saturday to take the top spot, he thinks his current group of players is just getting warmed up after a mixed 2023–24 campaign.
Prior to Northampton’s visit to Bloomfield Road on Tuesday, Critchley was questioned about the upcoming transfer window. The Seasiders boss responded, “Yeah, I know (what the budget looks like)” when asked if plans were taking shape and if there was a budget to strengthen.
These talks and meetings happen once a week. For the past few weeks, I’ve been having regular conversations with them about both our current players and prospective outside players.
However, this group is expanding as well. This group is improving, and as I always say, you have to look within yourself before you can look outside. It can be just as beneficial to coach and develop your own players within the building as it can be to occasionally bring in an outsider.
“We put this group together in the last window for a reason, and I was happy with the work we did and the support I received. We always want to strengthen and be a club that’s progressing.” We’ll see; this group is starting to come together. Things could change because there are still a few weeks left and players are staking their claims in practise and competition every day.
After winning at Fratton Park, Blackpool climbed to seventh place in the standings and are now only one goal behind the play-off spots on goal differential.
