It proved to be a clever piece of thinking as Varney capped an impressive performance with a glorious goal. He got on the end of a through-ball from Brett Ormerod and hit a first-time shot across goalkeeper David Stockdale and into the net.

Varney is hoping to kick on and settle down after a career that has seen him also play for Crewe, Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday after starting out at non-league Quorn.He said: "I got a call at 11.20 on Thursday night and it was definitely an opportunity I could not turn down. I needed a club as I need to play.

I was close to joining a couple of Championship teams but it is a massive bonus to play in this league."I was really pleased to be involved. To get a start was really positive. I did not know what was going to happen. The goal came after we had worked on the move on the training ground. It is always good when these things come off. I am just slightly disappointed we didn't get the win."

"That goal I am absolutely delighted with. It was some of the best football any team of mine has ever produced. Then we lose the ball easily and they equalise, so we have some harsh lessons to learn."

Holloway said: "Luke has got pace and his game suits the way I want to play. It looked like he had been with us all his life."

He added: "If you realise he has just walked into the building, how hard is my job? It is not easy. Players go here and there. They carry their kitbags. Sometimes it suits them, sometimes it doesn't.

"Hopefully he will have a wonderful relationship with us and keep doing what he did today.

Bobby Zamora had given Fulham the lead with a firm header before going off with a thigh injury. Blackpool levelled through a John Pantsil own goal before Varney's moment of magic. Dickson Etuhu's late strike earned the Cottagers a point.

Fulham manager Mark Hughes thought his side suffered when Zamora went off but was with pleased with the team's character.

He said: "We haven't picked up that many points on the road over the years. It is something we hope to improve on. It is key to whether we have a decent season. In the second half we didn't play as well as we normally can, made a couple of mistakes and let them get back into the game.

"It is good to see Dickson Etuhu getting on the end of something. He has not scored many goals in his career. We are trying to get him forward more. We lost a little bit of our focus when Bobby went off. That disrupted us somewhat. But we are pleased with an away point and will build on that."