Mick McCarthy delivers his verdict on Blackpool's inability to dig themselves 'out of a hole'

That’s the admission of head coach Mick McCarthy, who has just seven games remaining to maintain Blackpool’s Championship status.

It comes after the Seasiders were well beaten in the derby on Saturday, going down to a 3-1 defeat to their fierce rivals Preston North End at Deepdale.

While McCarthy’s side started the game okay, once they fell behind to Brad Potts’ 12th minute opener they never looked like recovering.

It’s a problem that has plagued their campaign – only once have they come back from behind to win a game this season.

Coincidentally, that was also their last away win, the 2-1 victory at Coventry City back in October.

Of the 26 times they’ve fallen behind this season, only once they’ve come back to win while on five occasions they’ve rescued a draw.

It’s one of many factors behind Blackpool’s struggles this season, as they now sit four points adrift of Cardiff City ahead of their huge six-pointer against the Bluebirds on Good Friday.

When asked about Blackpool’s struggles to fight back in games this season, McCarthy told The Gazette: “When you’re near the bottom of the league like we are, we’re hardly brimming with confidence. It feels like you have to get out of a hole again.

“I don’t think the players lacked workrate (against Preston), guts or anything like that, determination for example, but you’ve got to have that ability on top of it to get out of the hole you’re in.”

McCarthy kept his players in the dressing room for a prolonged period of time after Saturday’s derby defeat at Deepdale.

When asked if some harsh words were shared, the 64-year-old said: “Yes, sort of. I don’t go around beating them up, screaming and shouting because I don’t think it has that effect at all.

“But as a collective we weren’t good enough and that’s what we’ve got to improve on. There are a lot of things to improve on from this performance.

“As you can imagine the mood is pretty lousy, the players are disappointed as you’d expect.”