Keith Southern was pleased to make a return from injury in the reserves - but admitted his disappointment at the result.

The 29-year-old played 75 minutes in the 4-0 loss to Aston Villa and now hopes to make a first-team return from the knee injury he sustained at Bristol City in pre-season.

"It was a run-around and a heavy defeat but the most important thing for me was to come through injury-free and get 70-odd minutes under my belt," he told www.blackpoolfc.co.uk. "I'm pleased I did that.

"I felt good, I had a couple of block tackles, a lot of twisting and turning and the knee felt fine. I was a little bit stiff towards the end but I feel fit and ready, I was just a little disappointed with the way the game went and the sloppy goals we gave away."

The midfielder missed the trip to Latvia last week to continue working on his fitness and believes it was the right decision.

"I had a great week last week working hard with the physio Alan Bent, our fitness guy Chris and Parky. I was probably a bit stiff after all the running I did last week, it was kind of a mini pre-season, but it will do me the world of good in the long run."

The Geordie is now hoping to stake his claim for a place in the squad heading to Newcastle this weekend, although he is well aware of the competition in front of him.

"You've got to look forward and look towards the next game," he said. "I've been in the game long enough now to know that I'm not going to walk back in - football's not like that - I'll have to fight for my place.

"Hopefully I might be involved at the weekend but that's up to the manager."