Goalkeeper Matt Gilks has poured praise on the new recruits after their fantastic performances on Saturday against Wigan Athletic.

Elliot Grandin, Craig Cathcart, Chris Basham and Ludovic Sylvestre all impressed while striker Marlon Harewood bagged a brace - much to the delight of Gilks.

"Elliot (Grandin), the winger, was superb," he said. "I thought for him to come in and do that well after coming in just two days before the start of the season is a credit to himself. Even Craig at the back and Marlon scoring two goals - it's a great start for them here at Blackpool."

The new recruits weren't the only ones to come in for praise from the goalkeeper though.

'Gillo' managed to keep a clean sheet in his first ever Barclays Premier League appearance but gave a lot of credit to his defence.

"They were superb," he added. "For the first 15 minutes I was quite nervous to be honest with you; my first game in the Premier League but I settled down after that.

"The back four were magnificent throughout the game. In the second half I had one save to make, tipping it over the bar but other than that it was a quiet afternoon really."

Gilks is currently preparing to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Rosicky and Robin Van Persie could leave many players starstruck but the Seasiders squad are fully focused on the job at hand.

"I know that we're there to stop them doing their job," Gilks explained. "It's nice to see them and all the rest of it but once we're on the pitch, we're not going to be friends with them we're going to get amongst them, kick a few of them hopefully and see if we can come away with a result."