Away form alone will not keep Blackpool in top league

Of the newly promoted team's 19 remaining games, 12 are at home, where their form is one of the worst in the Premier League.

One of the stories, if not the story, of the season so far has been Blackpool's start to their first season in the Premier League.

Ian Holloway, the club's charismatic manager, has worked wonders on a shoestring budget. DJ Campbell was their biggest summer signing, from Leicester City, for a reported club record £1.25 million (Dh7.1m). That is about six week's wages for someone like Wayne Rooney.

The club have seen the toll that inflated salaries can take on a promoted team who spend beyond their means in an attempt to stay in the top flight. Just look at the struggles of teams such as Hull City.

In that sense, the £10,000-a-week ceiling set by chairman Karl Oyston on players wages is admirable.

And, despite the hurdles, Holloway's squad of misfits and bargains have performed wonders so far. A 4-0 away victory at Wigan Athletic on the opening day set the tone and while they have suffered the odd thrashing (6-0 at Arsenal being the worst) Blackpool have held their own among the big guns.

After four games, they were in the Champions League places, and after 19 games they are 11th with 25 points - just 15 away from the magic 40-point mark that normally means safety from relegation.

However, the compact nature of the table means they are only five points away from the relegation zone.

Blackpool's success this season has been based on their away form, where a commitment to attacking football has seen the triumph at the likes of Sunderland, Newcastle United and, most impressively, Liverpool. Five of their seven wins this season have come on the road and, while it may seem like the future is all rosy, therein lies a worrying statistic for Holloway.

Due to three postponements and the rearrangement of their opening game, 12 of Blackpool's 19 remaining games are at home, where their form is one of the worst in the league.

They have won only twice at Bloomfield Road and have conceded last-minute winners on three occasions, the latest in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat by Birmingham City.

The key month for Blackpool is April. All their games that month are at home: Arsenal, Wigan, Newcastle and Stoke City. Six points from those four games is feasible, if their home form picks up. And they will need results in April because the remaining three matches include trips to Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

Holloway is worried that his side have lost their "surprise factor" and a look at Hull's 2008/09 season shows the challenge ahead. Promoted Hull started as relegation favourites, but were joint top after nine games. However, they won just two of their remaining 29 games, avoiding relegation by a point.

Their home form that season? Just three wins and 11 defeats.