'We're on the up now': Marvin Ekpiteta predicts exciting second half to the season for Blackpool

The Seasiders got off to a slow start this season, sitting second from bottom after losing five of their opening seven league games.

But Neil Critchley’s side have turned it around in recent months and now find themselves within touching distance of the play-off spots.

Blackpool, who take on league leaders Hull City at Bloomfield Road this evening, will now be looking to build on their strong recent form which has seen them win five of their last seven league outings.

“Now we’ve found our feet, I think we’re just going to go up and up and keep moving forward,” Ekpiteta said.

“The second half of the season will be a lot different.

“We’d rather have a bad start and finish the season strong. We didn’t start well but we’re on the up now and we want to keep going up.

“We’ve got so many games coming up, it’s every Saturday-Tuesday at the moment so there’s plenty of opportunities for us to get more points.

“It is tough playing this often, especially with how intense the games are and how intense we play.

“We press high and we play at a very high intensity, so it is tough. But you’ve just got to get on with it, get through it and think about the next game.

“Because we’ve been playing so often, you have to recover in-between which means you don’t get as much time to train as a team.

“When we do get a day to train, it’s good to try and build for the game that’s coming up.”

Blackpool have already beaten some of the league’s fancied sides this season in the form of Peterborough United, Portsmouth and Fleetwood Town.

Ekpiteta and his teammates will be looking to add another side to that list in the form of the Tigers, who have won 11 of their 16 league games so far this season.

“We’ve just got to treat it like any other game,” the defender added.

“We’ve played top teams already this season and beaten them, so we can match and go past any team in this league as long as we apply ourselves the right way.

“We want to get three points from every game and we had the chances to get the three points against Oxford on Saturday.

“They’re a good side and it’s still a good draw, but we’re still disappointed we didn’t take all three.”

Ekpiteta is one of just two players to have started every league game for the Seasiders so far this season, with captain Chris Maxwell being the other.

The 25-year-old, a summer signing from Leyton orient, is enjoying his football on the Fylde Coast.

“It’s been really good. I’ve been enjoying it the whole time, even when the results weren’t going our way at the start,” Ekpiteta said.

“Now the results are there, it’s even better and I’m enjoying it even more.

“I love to play as many games as I can, so the more games I play the better I’ll get and the more confident I’ll feel.”

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here