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Michael Appleton says there’s no doubt his Blackpool side contributed to Middlesbrough’s 3-0 victory at Bloomfield Road.

Blackpool's midweek woes continue with shambolic defeat to Middlesbrough to lose...

Blackpool’s midweek woes continued with a shambolic defeat on home turf as the Seasiders lost for the third game running.

Appleton’s men, ravaged by injuries, illness and suspensions, were never at the races and were lucky not to lose by six or seven.

Fatigued or not, there was simply no excuse for such a laboursome display - one that ended with taunting “ole” chants from the visiting fans as the home ends emptied alarmingly quickly.

The result means the Seasiders have now only won one of the eight midweek games they’ve played in league and cup this season.

But more alarmingly, it sees them drop down to 21st place ahead of the six-pointer against fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic on Saturday.

“It was tough,” Appleton said.

It was yet another bad night at the office for Michael Appleton's side

“We came up against a decent side who are in good form and full of confidence under a new manager. It probably felt like a good time to play us with injuries, suspensions etc.

“Having said that, we contributed to their result which is obviously disappointing.”

Middlesbrough were awarded a contentious penalty for their second goal, with referee Jeremy Simpson pointing to the spot despite Chris Maxwell making no contact with Marcus Forss.

Despite the generous awarding, Appleton refused to use it as an excuse for his side’s defeat.

“It’s clearly not a penalty, but we allowed them to give the referee a decision which is the most disappointing thing,” Appleton said.

“It wasn’t down to any fantastic play from their point of view, it was a couple of errors from us which allowed the referee to make a decision.

“Yes, he’s made a poor decision but we shouldn’t allow him to make it.

“It was a blow coming just after half-time though, because we’ve shown over a number of times if we stay in games and keep it nice and tight, the longer the game goes on the louder the noise becomes and we can apply the pressure we want to apply on the opposition and make things happen, like we did on Saturday.

“Alright, we didn’t get the rewards but we certainly made it happen. But we haven’t done that tonight.”

'We contributed to their result': A downbeat Michael Appleton on Blackpool's worrying defeat to Middlesbrough