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Neil Critchley has touched on the impact Olly Casey has made in his Blackpool side ahead of Peterborough United on Saturday.
The Seasiders face the second of back-to-back home games in Sky Bet League One, with Casey once again having an important role to play. Critchley has reflected on the journey the young defender has made to get to where he is today.
"He's been excellent has Olly," Critchley added.
"I think he's benefitted hugely from going out on loan and playing regular football last season at Forest Green. It was a tough season for him but that could have actually been a good thing for him because he was having to defend a lot, and he's come on from that experience massively.
"He's had to be patient and wait for his opportunity here, even at the beginning of this season, but since he's come into the team he's been brilliant. He's really stepped up, he's been mature and he is performing well beyond his years at the moment.
"He'd definitely taken a step forward from the last time I was here. When I was here in my first spell we were in the Championship and we knew it would take a little bit of time, there weren't really many young centre halves in the league, so we knew he might have to go on a bit of a journey to get where he has got to.
"He's a good age and he's stepped forward in his development. He's got in the team and he's been excellent."
Elsewhere, Critchley confirmed Blackpool will continue to assess captain Ollie Norburn ahead of the fixture against his former Club. The midfielder missed the last two matches through injury, and the Pool Head Coach spoke of the desire of the 31-year-old to return to the side as quickly as possible.
"He was desperate to play last week against Oxford and he doesn't like missing games," Critchley said.
"He sees himself as the captain and the leader and he wants the responsibility of bringing his presence to the team. When he's not, you can see it impacts him, but we have to do the right thing for him. We have another game on Wednesday and then the FA Cup game, so we've got a busy period.
"He's been a big performer so far for us this season, he's the captain, and you want your captain on the pitch."
Saturday's opponents Peterborough sit a place above the Seasiders in the table, but with just two points seperating the sides, Blackpool have the chance to move ahead of Posh at the weekend. Critchley knows it will be a tough test against an experienced side.
"They've been similar to us in the last few years," Critchley said.
"They got promoted in the top two when we went up in the play-offs, then they've come back down and they'll be fighting to get back there again. When you look at the team and the quality they have in there, we know it'll be a really good game.
"I'm looking forward to the game, we know what to expect from them, it's a Darren Ferguson team and he's had success there and will be looking for similar success once again."
The Seasiders face the second of back-to-back home games in Sky Bet League One, with Casey once again having an important role to play. Critchley has reflected on the journey the young defender has made to get to where he is today.
"He's been excellent has Olly," Critchley added.
"I think he's benefitted hugely from going out on loan and playing regular football last season at Forest Green. It was a tough season for him but that could have actually been a good thing for him because he was having to defend a lot, and he's come on from that experience massively.
"He's had to be patient and wait for his opportunity here, even at the beginning of this season, but since he's come into the team he's been brilliant. He's really stepped up, he's been mature and he is performing well beyond his years at the moment.
"He'd definitely taken a step forward from the last time I was here. When I was here in my first spell we were in the Championship and we knew it would take a little bit of time, there weren't really many young centre halves in the league, so we knew he might have to go on a bit of a journey to get where he has got to.
"He's a good age and he's stepped forward in his development. He's got in the team and he's been excellent."
Elsewhere, Critchley confirmed Blackpool will continue to assess captain Ollie Norburn ahead of the fixture against his former Club. The midfielder missed the last two matches through injury, and the Pool Head Coach spoke of the desire of the 31-year-old to return to the side as quickly as possible.
"He was desperate to play last week against Oxford and he doesn't like missing games," Critchley said.
"He sees himself as the captain and the leader and he wants the responsibility of bringing his presence to the team. When he's not, you can see it impacts him, but we have to do the right thing for him. We have another game on Wednesday and then the FA Cup game, so we've got a busy period.
"He's been a big performer so far for us this season, he's the captain, and you want your captain on the pitch."
Saturday's opponents Peterborough sit a place above the Seasiders in the table, but with just two points seperating the sides, Blackpool have the chance to move ahead of Posh at the weekend. Critchley knows it will be a tough test against an experienced side.
"They've been similar to us in the last few years," Critchley said.
"They got promoted in the top two when we went up in the play-offs, then they've come back down and they'll be fighting to get back there again. When you look at the team and the quality they have in there, we know it'll be a really good game.
"I'm looking forward to the game, we know what to expect from them, it's a Darren Ferguson team and he's had success there and will be looking for similar success once again."