Blackpool must finish with a flourish for Terry McPhillips after goal-shy game at Scunthorpe

Terry McPhillips' Blackpool team were again found wanting in the final third

Blackpool rue lack of quality in final third at Scunthorpe

It means Pool, who dominated against the relegation-threatened Iron, have failed to score in 18 League One fixtures this term.

Yesterday’s stalemate was very much the story of Blackpool’s season on the pitch and McPhillips knows it must be addressed.

He said: “You’ve got to become more clinical. For all the nice passages we had and possession we had, you’ve got to turn it into goals.

“We’ve said this many times and we don’t seem to be able to buy a win at the moment. Hopefully we’re saving it for the Fleetwood game on Monday.

“I can’t knock the lads – they’re trying – it’s just that next bit of quality in the final third we need to produce to win us a game.

“We knew the pitch was going to be nice, so it was all about passing the ball, linking up and trying to get behind them. We did that but it was just the final cross or final finish which wasn’t good enough, but it wasn’t for the want of trying.”

There was better news at the other end of the pitch as Pool managed to keep their 17th clean sheet of the season. It was their first in 11 attempts, with their previous shutout coming against Charlton Athletic in mid-February.

McPhillips added: “I’m delighted for the defenders, Chris (Mafoumbi) and the team for that.

“I said for a while that keeping clean sheets but drawing 0-0 won’t do us any good. We want three points.

“Chris has made a couple world-class saves. Their lad has made one as well from Matty Virtue’s effort, where he’s actually gone the wrong way and stuck his leg out to save it. I thought it was in.

“Scoring has been the problem all season and hopefully we can address that in the final three games. We’ll also want to address it for next season.”

The Seasiders now turn their focus to Monday’s home clash against neighbours Fleetwood Town, with nothing to play for but local pride.

“We know it’s a derby, so we’ll have to roll our sleeves up and fight,” McPhillips said. “If you don’t get up for that game you won’t get up for any game. It’s exciting because there’s going to be a big crowd.

“It’s a massive game and we’re all looking forward to it. It would mean everything to get that win for the supporters because they deserve it.”