Blackpool coach Stephen Dobbie believes hard work will eventually pay for some of the Seasiders strikers struggling in front of goal.

The 41-year-old knows what it’s like to lead the line in Tangerine, having scored 15 goals in 56 appearances across four loan spells on the Fylde Coast.

Kyle Joseph has been Blackpool’s best scoring outlet so far this season, with the 23-year-old finding the back of the net five times so far in League One.

Meanwhile, Jake Beesley has managed two goals in all competitions, and Dom Ballard, Jordan Rhodes and Ashley Fletcher have only managed one each.

For the latter in particular, scoring has been an issue across a number of recent seasons, which includes loan spells with New York Red Bulls, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Rhodes had rediscovered his scoring touch while on loan with the Seasiders last year, but hasn’t been able to replicate that form since making the move permanent after being hindered by injury in the second half of the 2023/24 campaign.

“It’s about working hard on the training field - I was there a lot of times myself where you go games without a goal,” said Dobbie ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup first round tie with Gillingham.

“I always found the harder you work, the luckier you get. Hopefully they can get a lucky break or a tap in or something to kickstart the forwards, and then they can start to score some more goals.

“It’s all about hard work, we work tirelessly every day and then we do extras at the end.

“I thought Fletch came in the other day and did quite well, he was unlucky not to get a goal, but it’s his movement in the box that sometimes means it’ll drop for him.”