'Maybe we should' - Steve Bruce issues immediate reaction to Blackpool's victory over Northampton Town

After being among the attackers to endure a miss to forget in the Seasiders’ previous outing against Leyton Orient, Ashley Fletcher made no mistake in opening the scoring for his 10th goal of the season when a chance came his way during the first half.

On the other side of the break, Niall Ennis doubled the lead, as the Stoke City loanee also made amends for not making the most of his opportunities in the 2-1 defeat at Bloomfield Road seven days prior.

Reflecting on the win Bruce said: “They’re always going to ask you questions, they’re fighting for their lives, but I thought overall, without playing that well, we did enough to win the match.

“We didn’t look in any real danger. I have to say my two centre halves were immaculate. How many times have you seen this away from home with us? - Long may it continue.

“I was pleased. I think we’re close, we’ve been banging on the door for a while now. We didn’t deserve to get beat last week, so we’ll keep trying and plugging away. I enjoy some of the stuff we play. When we’re playing well, we’re a handful for any team in this division.”

Blackpool’s form away from Bloomfield Road has been superior to their home results this season.

With some big games coming up on the Fylde Coast to keep their slim play-off hopes alive, Bruce knows it’ll be important to fix the Seasiders’ issues in front of their own fans.

“Maybe we should ask if we can play at their place,” he added jokingly.

“We’ve got some big games coming up, and we’re not going to give up on it. We’ve got a big game next week against our local rivals Bolton.

“With them to play next week, then you never know. In this division, anything can happen.

“It’s frustrating for all of us because we could’ve easily won three or four of those draws at home, and we would’ve been in a totally different position. I do believe we’re close and that the players are enjoying the system.”