McDonald: Blackpool strikers must seize last chance

Jack Redshaw had a big chance against Wigan

His team go into their do-or-die clash at Peterborough without a goal in four games.

The Seasiders know anything but a win and a defeat for Fleetwood at home to Crewe will see them relegated to League Two.

And after watching his strikers fluff their lines in the first half of last weekend’s 4-0 defeat by Wigan, McDonald wants them to be much more clinical.

The under-pressure manager said: “You have to score when you’re on top, especially when you play the top teams.

“We should have taken the chances we created and in the end we were heavily punished.

“The strikers can only be described as superb when they put the ball in the net.

“Too many times this season we’ve created plenty of chances and not taken them only to be punished at the other end.”

Few fancy Blackpool to pull off a great escape this weekend, with bookies offering around 20/1 for them to be a League One club again next season, and McDonald has to accept their hopes now hinge on a big favour from Crewe.

He said: “We have to take that on the chin, and we have to hang on to the fact that we aren’t down yet and other teams can do us a favour.

“It’s not looking good but until the time comes we live with a little bit of hope.

“We needed to win last weekend and we didn’t, but we’ve managed to keep the door open.

“Hopefully Crewe can do us a favour; if they don’t, we’ll be bitterly disappointed,”

Relegation could lead to the departure of McDonald, who has openly admitted his remit was always to keep the club in League One.

But when asked about the future, he said: “I won’t be thinking beyond next Sunday. We have to try to lift the players this week.

“We have one game left and we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”

There’s also plenty at stake at the other end of the League One table in the final-day fixtures. A point for Burton at Doncaster will see them promoted to the Championship for the first time in their history. Defeat would open the door to Walsall to take second place with victory at Port Vale.

Scunthorpe or Gillingham could still take the final play-off spot from Barnsley.