Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston has insisted that he is confident the club can recruit the players needed to be competitive in the Championship this season.

Manager Jose Riga cancelled the pre-season tour of Spain to concentrate on bringing in new players following the exit of 27 members of the squad at the end of the previous campaign, but Oyston is hopeful that the side will look much stronger by the end of the summer.

"I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be able to recruit sufficient numbers and quality to be able to compete in the Championship, the chairman revealed on the club's website. "The main thing people want to see is players signing for us and I think once we get some signed, and everything settles down, then we'll soon forget about some of the problems.

"We're finding it difficult to land some of the players we've been chasing.

"That's always the case, but unfortunately it's with the backdrop of not having many players, so it probably focuses things a little more than would normally be the case."

Blackpool begin their Championship campaign against Nottingham Forest on August 9.