Blackpool suffered a 3-2 defeat away to Wigan Athletic in the EFL Trophy.

Blackpool assistant coach Stephen Crainey states fixing the Seasiders’ current defensive issues will be a priority during the international break following a 3-2 defeat to Wigan Athletic in the EFL Trophy.

Connor Barrett broke the deadlock in the opening exchanges, before Scott Hogan doubled the advantage on the opposite side of the break.

Goals from Tom Bloxham and Jerry Yates came either side of one for Fraser Murray, leaving them as nothing more than consolations.

Reflecting on the loss at the Brick Community Stadium, Crainey said: “Firstly, really disappointed to lose the game, but we didn’t start well at all, conceding the goal through a deflection put us on the back foot straight away.

“It’s football for you, and it’s about how you react and bounce back. We did bounce back, but there’s times in the game where we could’ve been better in possession and created a bit more in the final third.

“Towards the end, I thought we got right back into it. I thought we were going to get an equaliser, but the ball just didn’t break for us.

“We’re really disappointed to lose the game. We’re just conceding too many goals at the moment, and we need to work on that during this international break.

“We’re going to rest up, get a little break, work hard, and hopefully be ready for Cambridge away.

“There’ll be some rest time, but most importantly we’ll be working hard on that training pitch to rectify what we can get better at.”