Ishmel Demontagnac grabbed the first for Blackpool (Photo: David Penniall)

This was supposed to be the game Wigan found its feet again, but transpired to be another night to forget as Blackpool ran riot at Bloomfield Road.

Changes were expected, and Martinez certainly went to town in that respect, retaining just two of the players that started the Manchester United game. But Blackpool were not short of changes themselves, with Ian Holloway making seven changes to the team that drew with Watford on Saturday.

A matter of who would hit the ground running, then, and it was the Tangerines who managed to take the cake. Their three big attacking moves in the first half yielded an impressive three goals, whilst Latics’ own three chances only drew saves from an on-song Matthew Gilks.

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Mike Pollitt: A good chance of starting?

I think it would be best to write off Saturday as a bad day at the office and concentrate on the immediate future. After all, you don’t get relegated based on one result… at least hopefully not.

A bit of a diversion first, though, as next on the radar are Championship climbers and local rivals Blackpool in the city of the Golden Mile for our Carling Cup 2nd round tie. It’ll be a chance to give the impressive Mohamad Diame and his midfield compatriot Hendry Thomas some more much needed experience, even if it isn’t at Premiership level. It’s also an opportunity to try out some new things – since it’s unlikely that we’ll keep the same XI from Saturday, why not do a bit of fiddling a la the pre-season friendlies?

Well, perhaps not as much as in those matches, but we would do well to try and find a more stable back four. Bramble and Scharner put in much improved individual performances attacking-wise, but were left somewhat flagging by Rooney and Company (as opposed to Kompany). Now, what’s up with Emmerson Boyce? Is he still injured (unlikely since we’ve seen him warming up numerous times), or does Bobby prefer defenders with more attacking intent?

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