OPINION: Blackpool have hit a low point this season as away day mistakes are repeated at Cheltenham Town

Blackpool were defeated by Cheltenham Town (Photographer Andrew Kearns / CameraSport)

The word ‘spineless’ has been used by multiple people on social media to describe the performance at The Completely-Suzuki Stadium, and that probably sums it up perfectly. Throughout the 90 minutes they lacked enthusiasm and failed to truly test the Robins keeper, but this story is far too familiar on the road.

For whatever reason they’ve simply been unable to fix their form away from Bloomfield Road, and seem too passive when they travel to teams in the bottom half of the table.

The defeat to Cheltenham wasn’t actually a great surprise considering the losses to Burton Albion and Port Vale over the Christmas period. Man for man Blackpool are better than these teams, but as a collective they just haven’t competed well enough and don’t play to their own strengths. It was far too easy for Darrell Clarke’s side to bully the Seasiders- with their heads dropping as soon as the first goal went in.

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There have been several poor results this season, but the defeat on Tuesday night feels like the lowest point, simply because there had been some positivity at the start of 2024.

In January, the club had ground out some good results in the league, as well as producing two magnificent displays against Nottingham Forest. While a gap still existed between themselves and the play-off places, there were reasons to believe that period could’ve been a catalyst for a good run.

Of course, only picking up one point from the games against Stevenage and Oxford United, who are currently ahead of the Seasiders in the table, were big blows, but the Cheltenham Town game does feel like the final nail in their play-off hopes.

Of course, the points difference is a massive mountain for them to overcome, but it’s the fact they’ve continuously failed to fix their away form which simply means they’re unable to produce the necessary run required. It’s still not impossible but at the moment it’s seemingly unlikely.

The target should be now just to regain some respectability, and making sure the long-term foundations are in place. A place in the EFL Trophy final is still up for grabs, and success in that competition would give them something to build on.