Blackpool players are learning about life in the Championship

That’s according to Neil Critchley, whose side endured a seventh game without a win on Saturday as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at crisis club Derby County.

The Seasiders, who have lost three games on the spin, have also only netted twice in those last seven outings.

“It’s not a great mood as you’d expect in the dressing room after a game they’ve lost, but I think the players also think we’re not miles away either,” Critchley told The Gazette.

“If we’re getting battered every week, the goalkeeper is making save after save, we’re conceding goals for fun and we don’t know where the next win is going to come from, then that would be a real worrying cause for concern.

“If you look at the last three games, I would argue we deserved a lot more from those games but this is the division we’re playing in. It can be brutal and it can be very harsh.

“We’re being given a harsh lesson in what the Championship is about at this moment.”

Blackpool’s most obvious cause for concern is their lack of goals.

Critchley’s men, who have only netted 20 times in 22 league games this season, have played six hours of football without finding the back of the net.

When asked if their recent troubles in front of goal are concerning, Pool’s head coach said: “Of course it is, because what happens at both ends of the pitch decides the outcome of the game.

“In the middle, it’s down to opinion and it’s a bit subjective, but there was nothing in the game on Saturday.

“I said to the players at the end, Shayne (Lavery) comes inside and has a shot that is deflected and it goes straight to the keeper.

“If that gets deflected and it goes in the bottom corner and we win 1-0, then we feel differently despite producing the exact same performance.

“Did we play any better when we won 1-0 at Sheffield United? Probably not.

“We’ll just have to keep calm and keep doing what we’re doing, look to improve areas of the pitch where we need to, which is quite obvious.

“We changed the team against Derby with the personnel because we’re trying to find a solution from within.

“It’s up to the players to grasp the opportunities they’re getting and, at the moment, they’re unfortunately not doing that.

“They’re making my life harder because there’s not many who are first choice, nailed on to play.”

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