Matthew Blinkhorn joined Morecambe on his 22nd birthday on a one month loan in time to make his debut against St Albans City the following day.

Blackpool manager Simon Grayson was quoted as saying: "He needs regular first-team football, which is something we can't give him at the moment. Hopefully he'll play at Morecambe, get on the scoresheet and come back here ready to push for a starting place."

McIlroy later revealed that he had tried sign Blinkhorn six weeks earlier but he moved to Bury on loan instead.

Blinkhorn made an immediate impact for the Shrimps, scoring 16 minutes into his debut against St Albans City in a game that Morecambe went on to win 2-0.