OPINION: Blackpool’s results haven’t matched their performances under Neil Critchley

That doesn’t paint the full picture by any stretch of the imagination though, as the Seasiders have actually produced plenty of promising signs for the weeks, months and hopefully, years, ahead.

Pool started off with a more than creditable goalless draw at the weekend against a Fleetwood Town side that are now unbeaten in 12.

Their first-half display was as good as anything I’ve seen from the Seasiders this season, the high pressing and tenacity to win the ball back as soon as possible being a particular highlight.

While Joey Barton’s men were the better side in the second half, Blackpool still had the best two chances of the game with Nathan Delfouneso’s miss from 10 yards and Joe Nuttall’s late header.

Fleetwood are clearly a very good side but, during that first half, it’s fair to say Blackpool made them look ordinary.

As first games go, it was as calm, composed and as measured as you could really expect from Critchley after just three days with his new players on the training pitch.

Fast forward to Tuesday night and the Seasiders were unable to build on that solid foundation, going down to a frustrating 2-1 defeat to Tranmere Rovers.

On the face of it, a home loss against a side rooted inside the bottom three in League One is pretty disastrous.

However, there’s a reason why the supporters stayed until the end to clap the players off – because the fans are able to see what Critchley is trying to do and they’re buying into it.

In terms of non-stop singing throughout the entirety of the match, I can’t say I recall a better atmosphere than the one we witnessed on Tuesday night.

That 20 to 25-minute period in the second half where the Seasiders were enjoying wave after wave of attack was a joy to watch, it was just a shame Pool didn’t get that second goal they deserved.

A quick word for Tranmere though, who played nothing like a side that is fighting for their lives at the wrong end of the table.

Micky Mellon’s team are enjoying a three-game winning run, with all of those victories coming on the road, and they certainly played like a side full of confidence during that first half.

They drew Blackpool into a frantic physical battle in the first half and, at times, the men in tangerine didn’t have an answer for it. Pool’s youngsters will learn from that.

In Morgan Ferrier and James Vaughan in attack they had one of the most potent strike partnerships I’ve seen all season.

That’s some statement given Tranmere’s troubles this season, but Ferrier in particular gave Ben Heneghan an absolutely torrid 90 minutes for the second time this season.

It’s not a position they wanted to be in at this stage of the campaign, but Blackpool can now enjoy the luxury of not having to play with any pressure between now and the end of the season.

Critchley will naturally want to get as many wins as possible under his belt between now and the summer, but it isn’t as if there are any play-off spots on the line or any relegation threat to worry about.

While there wasn’t a great deal wrong with Blackpool’s performance on Tuesday night, if they’re to seal a first win for Critchley then they’re certainly going to demonstrate more of a killer touch in the final third, because far too many clear-cut chances went begging against Tranmere.

Then again, how often have we said that this season?