David Dunn says injuries to key men give other Barrow AFC players the chance to stake their claim.

Matty Platt and Josh Kay both went off in the second half of Saturday’s Carabao Cup clash at Derby.

Both could miss tonight’s EFL trophy trip to Blackpool.

Bluebirds boss Dunn said: “It’s frustrating.

“I understand footballers can get injured. Josh and Matty are a big part of our plans here.

“It’s not ideal but it gives someone else an opportunity to come in and fill in, and see if they can pick the shirt up.”

Dunn was pleased Barrow responded to his training-ground instructions when they took on Derby, and will be hoping for similar positivity tonight.

He added: “If there’s one thing we do a lot in training, it’s work on our shape.

“When I was playing I wanted to know what my job was. All the players are getting to grips with it, all know their jobs.

“We’ve got some really good footballers in our team, defensively we look good and also look a threat when we attack teams.”

Blackpool head into tonight’s game after a 7-2 friendly defeat to a star-studded Liverpool team. Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino were among the scorers for the Premier League champions.

Pool boss Neil Critchley said: “I’m happy with where we’re at but we know we’ve got a lot of improvements to come.”