The surprise package of this fledgling Championship season are Blackpool. Paul Ince’s side have made their best start to a campaign in 67 years and sit it top after just four games, despite a host of factors which normally would've pointed at a struggle. 

Injuries mean Ince is down to the bare bones while the summer departures of Tiago Gomes, Ludovic Sylvestre, Elliot Grandin, Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Matt Phillips have left the Seasiders light on the creative front too.

Saturday’s match-winner, Tom Barkhuizen, was making just his second substitute appearance for the Tangerines in the Championship and Ince admitted afterwards that had he been able to pick his first-choice XI, the 20 year-old wouldn’t have featured.

Speculation surrounding the future of Tom Ince will continue so long as the former Liverpool winger is at Bloomfield Road but the England Under-21 international seems set on making the right move after rejecting the advances of Cardiff City.

Despite the multi-million pound departure of Phillips to Queens Park Rangers, Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston has been reluctant to invest heavily in improving his playing squad. He has still overseen a number of arrivals this summer, albeit mainly on free transfers.

With no fewer than five strikers spending time on loan with the club last season, coupled with the departures of Kevin Phillips and Taylor-Fletcher, Ince has been quick to bolster his attacking options this summer.

Former Bristol City, Derby County and Tranmere Rovers forward Steven Davies is the headline summer addition, joining for a fee of £500,000 from the Robins following their relegation to League One.

A reliable scorer at Championship level, the 25-year-old bagged 13 league goals in 21 starts last term, following on from a productive stint at Pride Park where he scored 21 times in 49 league starts.

Also arriving to boost Blackpool’s striking corps are Ricardo Fuller, Bobby Grant, Michael Chopra and Nathan Delfouneso, who returns from Aston Villa on a six-month loan deal.

Liverpool’s young left-back Jack Robinson has also arrived on loan after an 11-game loan spell with Wolverhampton Wanderers last season.

The 19 year-old is an England Under-21 international and made his debut for the Reds during the 2009-10 season. He has made  11 appearances to date for the Merseyside side.

Former Barnet, York City, Scarborough and Whitby midfield general Neil Bishop is another to have followed Ince to Blackpool. He signed on a free transfer from Notts County where he played under Ince for a season.

Ince used the loan window to good effect last season as he battled to steady the ship after taking over from Michael Appleton in February, signing MK Dons centre-half Gary MacKenzie until the end of the season.

The 27 year-old Lanark-born defender has since returned to the Lancashire club on a permanent basis this summer for an undisclosed fee.

However, MacKenzie joined the ever-growing injury list at the weekend and Ince is keen to add further depth to his squad, stating that he wants eight new players before the transfer window closes on Monday.

Fellow centre-back - and former Watford loanee - Craig Cathcart is also sidelined, as is central midfielder Isaiah Osbourne.