Blackpool showed the hallmarks of Appleton's style against Rangers as the market begins to move

As ever in football, dead air brings speculation and speculation brings concern - so getting back to what matters always helps.

It was a breath of fresh air walking into Bloomfield Road to see Blackpool back in action after negativity was growing throughout the ranks on social media and beyond. Finally adding a new addition only helped that turn further and while it remains to be seen whether Lewis Fiorini can step up to the Championship, Michael Appleton getting a player he wanted in the door is a long-awaited start.

With expectations that the dominos will begin to fall over the next week on the transfer front, the Seasiders showcased the sort of football their new Head Coach will hope to see going forward against the Scottish Premiership runners-up. In the opening stages the confidence to play under pressure that looked lost in the heavy defeat to Leeds was there in abundance.

The fluidity of movement from the advanced players made Blackpool look a real threat whenever they went forward, Keshi Anderson and Sonny Carey highlighting their intelligence off the ball as well as their quality on it. Josh Bowler looked like a man possessed in the opening 45 as he gave Borna Barisic the sort of going over that has become a regular theme for the Croatian international in 2022.

I always felt to an extent Blackpool were too structured and attacking players took on too much individual instruction in and out of possession when Neil Critchley opted to play a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, whereas it felt like the shackles were off going forward here. That is where the likes of Keshi Anderson in particular thrive, his vision to thread a pass or open up space for himself is going to be a real asset this season.

Rangers also looked threatening on