Nya Kirby doesn’t blame the pitch for Blackpool’s home struggles

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of play-off chasers Peterborough United means the Seasiders have now won just one of their last 10 games on their home turf.

Manager Terry McPhillips was highly critical of the surface following the game but Kirby says the players can’t afford to use it as an excuse.

“It was frustrating not to get a point, especially at home,” the 19-year-old said.

“Of course the pitch isn’t the best but you still have to deal with it because it’s the same for both sides.

“It’s difficult, it’s bobbly, but you can’t really use that as an excuse. You just have to get on with it and hopefully it’ll improve next season.

“It makes you concentrate a bit more as you have to keep your eye on the ball until the last second. It just means you have to be switched on and think ahead.

“A part of it is down to the pitch but I think it might be a mental block of some sort, but we definitely need to try and break that run at home.

“The main thing is to get that win for the fans.”

Marcus Maddison’s goal on the stroke of half-time was enough to separate the two sides in a game low on genuine clear-cut chances.

Pool felt the goal shouldn’t have stood, complaining of a handball in the build-up which went unpunished by referee Peter Wright.

“It was a decision that was definitely made by the referee, we thought it was a handball and they scored from that, which was a bit disappointing,” Kirby added.

“Me personally, I didn’t see it so I’m not too sure. But we’ve just got to react better and hopefully we’ll learn from that and not do it again next time.

“We tried to come back but I don’t think we had enough. It was difficult.

“We changed it second half and I felt like that change was needed to give us more of an attacking threat.

“We probably did bring more to the table but it still wasn’t enough.

“I felt like we had chances but we weren’t clinical enough. It was just one of those days where if you score the whole complexion of the game changes.”

Crystal Palace ambassador Mark Bright watched on from the stands as Kirby made his second successive start for the Seasiders for the first time since joining on loan in January.

He said: “It’s always good to get a start, especially getting the full 90 minutes under my belt which is good for my fitness.

“I thought I did well but I’m just disappointed with how the game turned out.

“Who knows if I will keep the shirt for the next game, I’m just going to carry on.

“It’s a training week so I’ve just got to make sure I do well in training and impress the gaffer.

“Hopefully he (Mark Bright) was impressed. I’m going to have a word with him so I will see what he says.”