Ex-Crystal Palace man expresses surprise at Mick McCarthy's Blackpool struggle

The 64-year-old has taken just nine points from the 13 league games he’s taken charge of since replacing Michael Appleton in January.

Blackpool’s relegation to League One was all but confirmed on Friday when they suffered a disastrous 3-1 defeat to Cardiff City, leaving them seven points adrift of safety with just six games remaining.

Given McCarthy’s track record of going into clubs and producing an upturn in form, Morrison was expecting the same to happen at Bloomfield Road but it’s not transpired on this occasion.

“They’re struggling to keep clean sheets and if you’re not scoring goals…,” he said on ITV’s EFL highlights show.

“Jerry Yates wasn’t available for this game and he’s important for them as their top goalscorer. He’s their talisman and (Gary) Madine is out injured, so they’ve got a lot of injuries to key players up front.

“It was a big result for Cardiff but Blackpool are in big trouble at the moment.

“I did think with Mick McCarthy going there he could turn it around but as he said before, this was a big game, these are the games where you have to beat the teams in and around you.

“If you don’t do that, then you’ll end up being relegated so it’s going to be an uphill task for Blackpool.”

The Seasiders head to play-off chasing Luton Town on Easter Monday knowing only a win will do ahead of next week’s home game against bottom side Wigan Athletic.