Roberto Di Matteo has admitted his surprise that Blackpool joined his West Brom side in the Barclays Premier League.
The two promoted sides meet at Bloomfield Road tonight with Di Matteo and Blackpool counterpart Ian Holloway both getting off to good starts to the season.
"I was positively surprised they got promoted," Di Matteo admitted. "They went into the play-offs in sixth place but it was good to see. It's a breath of fresh air, something different, new, exciting."
He added: "You watch the games and you see they've played some great football. After Arsenal and Chelsea they play some of the most attractive stuff. They move the ball, they pass it, they create chances."
The Albion boss is also aware that Blackpool have some shock results under their belt already and could have made an even greater stir had a couple of tight matches fallen their way.
"They won 4-0 against Wigan, 2-0 at Newcastle, 2-1 at Anfield and then against Manchester City they were very unlucky.
"At home to Blackburn they lost in stoppage time too so they could have had three or four more points easily. It's such a thin line between a few more points and a few less."
Source: PA
