Having been sidelined for five months after suffering a broken kneecap against West Ham in November, Gilks has returned to first-team action for the Seasiders' run-in as they bid to preserve their Premier League status. The 28-year-old has played the last three matches and kept the club's first home clean sheet of the season in Saturday's goalless draw with Stoke. Blackpool - who have won only once in 15 games - are above the relegation zone on goal difference alone with three fixtures to go, and although Holloway believes Gilks has not yet regained 100% match fitness, he feels it is vital for the Tangerines' survival bid that the stopper is back in the fold. "I still don't think he is totally fully fit," Holloway said. "Anyone who has lost movement for a while and suffers muscle wastage would not be fully right, but what he adds is all sorts of belief to the people around him because he is talking non-stop. "He does not stop talking, even in my team meetings - I've got to shut him up sometimes because he is that vocal! "It is in times like this that you need characters and he is definitely one of them. It has helped immensely." Holloway has urged out-of-sorts club captain Charlie Adam to keep things simple over the remaining weeks of the season. Adam has been one of the Seasiders' star performers this term and was among the shortlisted nominees for the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award won by Tottenham's Gareth Bale last month. However, the Scotland midfielder admitted recently that his form has taken a dip, and Holloway is advising Adam to focus less on elaborate cross-field balls and efforts on goal and more on getting the basics right. "He's that important to us that if he plays well, we play well," Holloway said. "But luckily some of the lads, particularly in the last two games, have raised their level and made up for him not being quite up to his normal level. "It will always be difficult for Charlie to be able to play to his level and stand out. "What he has got to do is make sure he plays simply, quickly, nicely and neatly, and forgets all these shots from the halfway line because that is not really going to help anybody when you are not on form. That's not the way to get back in the game. "We have spoken about it and I've put on some training this week for him and the rest of them to get it into their minds what is important. "For 75% of the time you should be playing it nice and simple to your team-mates and 25% of the time you should be looking for a long diagonal if one is on. "At the moment I would suggest that he is getting that balance slightly wrong." Although acknowledging it would be unrealistic to expect the 25-year-old to maintain his performance level throughout the entire season, Holloway insists Adam is not undroppable. "He is a great player, a great lad and he's allowed to be not totally on top form sometimes," Holloway said. "But if he goes too bad I might leave him out. "I've got some other people here who are probably thinking 'are you ever going to do that?' So I'll have to think about that." Blackpool face Spurs at White Hart Lane tomorrow before hosting Bolton and then travelling to Manchester United on the last day of the season.
