Preston North End game will be worth the wait, but playing it this weekend would have been timely for Blackpool

It’s unfortunate the way things have panned out, as this weekend would have been the perfect time to make the short trip to Deepdale given Preston’s midweek battering…

Our dear neighbours have offered to reimburse the 600 supporters who travelled to Luton to witness their side’s 4-0 defeat. It could prove to be a costly few weeks for Preston given the Seasiders are in town (come on, it’s not a city) at the start of April!

It was a shame Blackpool couldn’t claim a fourth straight win on Wednesday night but still, it was some game wasn’t it? I can’t recall the last time I witnessed a 0-0 draw as entertaining as that.

Neil Critchley’s side have still only lost two of their last 12 league games but if they’re to have any chance whatsoever of keeping in contention with the top six, draws are of no use.

Realistically, the Seasiders are going to require at least 20 points from their final nine games - and even that might not be enough given Blackpool’s goal difference of +1, compared to Nottingham Forest’s +18, for example.

Can Blackpool win six or seven of their final nine fixtures? Unlikely, you’d imagine. But still, how nice is it to even be discussing this?

It’s a shame their momentum has been stalled a little by the international break, because you only have to look back at last season to see how good Blackpool can be when they’re on a roll.

They also played eight games in April last season, just as they will this term, and - despite injuries mounting up to key players - managed four wins and two draws as they forced their way into the top six in League One.

On this occasion, the break could well come in handy though as the likes of Chris Maxwell, Richard Keogh and Keshi Anderson could all be back from injury when Forest come to town.

Jordan Gabriel, Luke Garbutt and Matty Virtue shouldn’t be too far behind, either.

It was good to see a few of those aforementioned players get a kick about on the Bloomfield Road pitch after Wednesday night’s game.

Maxwell was throwing himself about like he’s never been away and Keshi was like…well, Keshi. What a boost it will be to have him back for the run-in, because he was one of Blackpool’s best performers before he suffered his hamstring injury at the start of January.

It was good to get a little insight to how they train, because this was no tippy-tappy session, this was full-tilt and intense. Challenges were flying in and there were outbursts whenever a chance went begging. It’s no wonder they turn up on match day so finely tuned!

It’s largely gone unnoticed that Blackpool have now passed the 50-point mark and we’re only in mid-March. It’s instead been met with a shrug of the shoulders and a feeling of ‘yeah, and?’

Let’s be honest, since Pool made the necessary adjustments during the opening month of the campaign, relegation has never really been a concern. Even mentioning it feels a little dirty, like you’re being negative for daring to look down for one moment, rather than up.

But I still think it’s an achievement worthy of recognition. The first aim of any side to be promoted from League One is to secure their status and then move from there.

Given Blackpool achieved promotion via the play-offs and not the top two, it probably shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise that they were largely written off before a ball was kicked. Pretty much everyone outside the Blackpool bubble had them down as a certainty to finish in the bottom three.

Those inside Bloomfield Road and those of us fortunate enough to witness them play in the past two seasons knew that was never going to be the case though.

Let’s not kid ourselves though, there are still improvements to be made. No good will come from sitting still and repeatedly patting yourself on the back.

If we’re being hyper-critical, the Seasiders are lacking that final touch, that final bit of quality to put games to bed.

I don’t think anyone can argue Wednesday night’s draw was a deserved one, but if Blackpool are going to make that step to the next level then they need to find a way of turning draws like this into wins.

One moment stood out for me. It was when CJ Hamilton was played through on goal only to blaze well over the bar. They’re the sort of moments that can decide the games.

Hamilton isn’t alone in that, by the way, because Josh Bowler missed a similarly gilt-edged chance in the win against Swansea City at the weekend. These things can happen, not all opportunities will end up in the back of the net. We can also have a bit more sympathy for Bowler, given his recent scoring exploits!

But when Blackpool are on top in games, like they were at the start of the second-half on Wednesday, they need to capitalise. That’s going to be the natural progression for them.

The encouraging thing for Blackpool fans is that, whenever they’ve needed to develop and work on something, that’s exactly what they do.

Critchley and his staff are well aware of their faults and weaknesses and don’t try and shy away from them. Instead, they work and work to get better.