The season looks set to go down to the wire for the Seasiders, with the search for points set to continue on Saturday when Sheffield Wednesday visit Bloomfield Road for a sell-out relegation showdown.
The gap between Blackpool and the relegation places has been whittled down to just two points by the chasing pack, and the team has now gone eight games without a win.
Simon Grayson was very critical of his side after last Saturday's sorry show at Cardiff, when the team recorded their second successive 3-1 defeat.
advertisement
The performance at Cardiff was no doubt a hangover from the last ten minutes of the previous game, when three late West Brom goals probably knocked the confidence out of the players.
But the manager was making no excuses and was less than pleased with the latest performance:
"I was disappointed last Tuesday when we lost to West Brom but that performance made me quite happy.
However, Saturday's performance makes me just frustrated and disappointed with my team and that's why we need to sort things out."
Grayson chose to save his words for a team meeting on Monday rather than speak in the heat of the moment after the game. And he has vowed that there will be no repeat of that performance this Saturday:
"The one thing I can promise is that our performance against Sheffield Wednesday will be nothing like the performance we put in on Saturday at Cardiff."
"I think the players have to accept and realise that they did not perform. They have got to respond in the right manner against Sheffield Wednesday and I know they will. Cardiff was a poor display which won't be repeated."
He will spend the week assessing players before he decides who is in the right frame of mind for such a huge game.
The future looked bright a few weeks ago when superb performances brought stylish victories against Charlton and Norwich.
The manager surely needs to have faith in that kind of approach, and stick to his principles, rather than drift towards a more pragmatic long ball game in the way that he has in recent weeks. Weeks without a win.
Blackpool go searching for that elusive win against a side that beat them 2-1 at Hillsborough back in October.
It was not one of the Seasiders' better performances, it has to be said. Team selection is likely to focus on a number of areas: central midfield, central defence and attack.
Either Jorgensen or Fox is likely to start in place of Flynn on Saturday. Grayson seemed to accept his mistake of pairing Flynn with Southern at Cardiff when he substituted Flynn at half time. Jorgensen missed the game through injury.
Grayson will also be wondering whether to bring back Michael Jackson to steady the ship at the back, but his most difficult decision perhaps lies in attack.
McPhee has been playing well enough to keep his place but, alongside him, there are cases for selecting any of Ben Burgess, Paul Dickov or Andy Morrell.
Burgess is the club's top scorer this season, with 8 league goals. Dickov was the man who transformed the side after he arrived and scored 5 goals in his first 5 outings before his hamstring injury. If he is fit, his experience and ability are a clear asset.
Morrell came off the bench to grab the goal on Saturday. He is fresh, and possesses the kind of attitude and work-rate that is required right now. He is also well suited to playing the passing game that the team plays best.
Big decisions for the manager, who will need to use everything he has learnt so far in the job ahead of Saturday's match.
Sheffield Wednesday arrive on the back of an unbeaten run of nine matches.
They have drawn their last seven games in a row, most recently at home to Plymouth on Tuesday night when a late equaliser from Owls defender Tommy Spurr meant the spoils were shared again.
Bart Slusarski, who spent December and January on loan at Blackpool from West Brom, came on as a second half substitute for Wednesday.
Having offered little in a tangerine shirt, it would be ironic indeed if he were to come back to haunt his former team mates this weekend.
The stakes are high, and the tickets are all sold. It's time for a tangerine hero to emerge; three points on Saturday probably won't guarantee championship football next season, but it wouldn't be far away. And that is what this season has been all about.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Submit your event for free. Click 
Print
Email this
Comment
