Aldred targets Blackpool goal rush

The centre-back scored the winner at Leyton Orient on Saturday, where Pool completed back-to-back victories for the first time in League Two.

Aldred admits it has been frustrating for the team to play well without picking up the points they have deserved, but he believes those days are now behind them.

He said: “There have been question marks over our consistency and we came to Leyton Orient with only one win away from home, which we know isn’t good enough for where we want to be.

“But we knew a win on Saturday would be a good scalp. We have to keep it a game at a time – it’s still early days – keep up the good form and keep getting the results.”

The 26-year-old scored five in League One last season but Saturday’s goal was his first since March.

Manager Gary Bowyer has called on the defence to chip in with goals and Aldred is pleased to have opened his account for the season .

“It’s not very often I’m the matchwinner but when it comes it’s very sweet,” he added.

“It’s not my job to get on the end of things but I’m delighted with the goal – it’s definitely been coming – but I’m more delighted with the win.

“I should pose more of an aerial threat in the opposition box. I just needed to get off the mark and hopefully they’ll come like buses now. I had a good record last season, so now I want to try to improve on that.”

Aldred’s goal gave his side a 2-0 cushion but Bowyer’s men were forced to hang on for all three points after Paul McCallum’s header gave the hosts a sniff of a point.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t get the clean sheet because we felt very comfortable,” Aldred said.

“They threw the kitchen sink and towards the end they were throwing six or seven men forward.

“It’s a good ball in for their goal and a good header – sometimes you have to hold your hands up. We had five minutes to hold on and thankfully we did.”

n Mansfield insisted they would pull out all the stops to prevent tonight’s home clash with Blackpool being rained off. Parts of the pitch have been covered since Saturday’s 3-1 win over Crawley but with more rain forecast a pitch inspection was scheduled for 9.15am.