WINNIPEG — After closed practice on Thursday, Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said Matt Nichols “looked good” and was doing more than he had the day before.

“I just think he has to keep getting better,” O’Shea told the media when asked what else Nichols had to show him to confirm the pivot will start.

“And feel good. He’s gotta feel good about going in. Like I said, I don’t really have a doubt in my mind (he will start) so I don’t think he has to show me much more than he’s showing me.”

Earlier in the week it was reported that Nichols would start the playoff game at Investors Group Field but was limited in practice on Wednesday, only taking a few hand-offs before stepping aside.

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Running back Andrew Harris also told reporters that he believes Nichols should be ready to play.

“He did,” Andrew Harris said when asked if Nichols was participating more on Thursday. “He looks and feels good. I have full confidence he’ll be in there to play a game with us.”

Nichols suffered a lower body injury in the first quarter of the team’s Week 19 contest against the BC Lions on a non-contact play. He missed Winnipeg’s season finale against the Stampeders last week.

The team is preparing for their first home playoff game since 2011, trying to earn a ticket to the Western Final in Calgary next week.