With preparations well underway for Saturday's clash against the Tangerines, Ronan Kpakio spoke to the press ahead of City's journey to Lancashire.
Reflecting on the beginning to the season, the defender discussed his experiences so far in the First Team, as well as sharing the pitch with a number of fellow Academy graduates.
“It’s really exciting to be honest,” began Ronan. “I’m quite young, so this is new to me, but being able to play loads of games week in, week out is all that I could really ask for, because I just want to get better.
“I’m grateful to be in the position where I’m able to be here and do this.
“I’d say the style of play is great, it has suited me as a player as well. I really like it.
“That helps me, I’m more comfortable and confident in what I do. Everything that’s been going on this season, from training to how it is around the group, the environment, everything is just really positive.
“That’s what we need. Where we want to be and where we want to go, we’re going to need that positive environment and that’s really helped us. Hopefully we can keep that up.
“I’ve been with Dak [Mafico] since I was about seven and have known him since I was about five, we’ve grown up literally playing together for the whole time, and now we’re both in the squad.
"People like Dylan [Lawlor] and Tanatswa [Nyakuhwa] who are a year older we’ve played with since we were about nine, so it’s quite mad when you think about it. We cherish the moment and being here all together.”
Turning his attention towards this weekend, the City right-back discussed preparations for the trip to Bloomfield Road, along with the importance of away support this season.
“We want to dominate as much as possible, and then just get the points from them.
“We’re not going to win every single game, as we’ve seen so far, but we hope to put in performances that show that we’re able to, and hope that the result comes with it.
“We’re expecting Blackpool to be aggressive. We’re always going to set up in a way that focusses on ourselves, but with every team in the league it’s always going to be very tough.
“No team is going to make it easy, we can’t just brush past anyone. It’s about how we set up, how we play, our mindset and ultimately how hard we work.
“The fans play a massive part. Our fanbase and support is something that every person in our squad is so grateful for, and it’s always great seeing the away followings we’ve had and away ends selling out. It only helps us."