Neil Critchley calls for cool heads in attack as Blackpool prepare for Wimbledon test

The Seasiders have lacked a cutting edge in League One so far this season, scoring just seven goals in their opening eight games.

While they finally returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 1-0 home victory against MK Dons, Pool there was some poor decision-making and execution in the attacking areas of the pitch.

Critchley accepts it is something Blackpool need to improve but remains confident that quality will begin to emerge.

“There have been certain games, like Charlton last week, when we were playing with 10 men for 90 minutes, so it was obviously going to be difficult to create a host of chances,” he said.

“On Saturday’s game, you have to pay respect to MK Dons.

“They’ve been to big clubs, good clubs in this division, who play football and they’ve totally outfootballed them and had a lot of the ball.

“We knew we weren’t going to get loads of opportunities but we were going to get some and those opportunities would be big moments, whether it’s a counter-attack or a chance to slide somebody in to create a goal.

“In those moments, we didn’t achieve what we should have achieved.

“If we had done in the first half, then we could have gone in at the break one or two goals up.

“It’s not quite going for us yet, but I think the situation also plays on the players’ minds because they’re rushing things a little bit.

“That composure and confidence in the final third will return off winning games.

“We’ve created chances, I’m not standing on the sidelines thinking ‘where are the goals coming from and how are we going to score?’

“We are creating chances, but it’s up to us to finish the moves we’re creating.”

While it’s difficult to recreate a game situation, Critchley believes there are things he can do as a coach to solve the problem on the training pitch.

“You practice, you put the players into game-type scenarios and situations and speak to them about what we’re looking for, how to get in and what we’d do,” he said.

“You try to get the players to think, question them, but also give them the belief and the confidence to go and do it.

“You can recreate it, but obviously you can’t quite recreate the pressure situations of the games.

“The more you put them in those situations, hopefully the better they will become.

“There’s just that little bit of tension in and around the goal at the moment, but through experience, through playing together and the more we’re in these situations, then that composure and improved decision-making will come.”

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