It was destination Riga for the Seasiders on Friday morning as the players departed Jelgava for the capital. The lads were given the majority of the day off to explore the area and unwind prior to returning home on Saturday.

Checking in at the Albert, the players stepped off the now infamous pink bus to unpack for the night and plan the free hours ahead.

The main event planned for the evening was a trip to watch Latvia's Euro 2012 qualifier against Croatia. In similar conditions to the ones when Blackpool faced FK Jelgava the previous night, the heavy rain forced the players to seek shelter under the entrance of a building en-route, with Brett Ormerod the most vocal in pointing out that he'd stay there for 90 minutes unless the rain went off.

The rain did stop briefly however to allow the players to enter the VIP entrance of the ground, although everyone was frisked from head-to-toe by security before being admitted through the main gate.

The Latvians were captained by former Pool defender Kaspars Gorkss, who was sporting a shorter hairstyle and donning the number 13 shirt. The fixture ended with Croatia running out 3-0 winners and starting their campaign with a vital three points.

Recent arrivals Luke Varney and Matt Phillips opted to utilise empty fruit boxes on the way home in an effort to try and keep the torrential rain at bay. Others just chose to run.

The game rounded off an eventful three days in Latvia as the players now head home to prepare for the Barclays Premier League fixture at Newcastle next Saturday.