Why Blackpool's heavy defeat to Nottingham Forest should prove to be an invaluable lesson

It was always going to require a gargantuan effort from the Seasiders, but while there’s still hope - as slim as it was - you can’t blame people for daring to dream.

But this result should be the final nail in the coffin. Not only did it arrive in emphatic fashion, but it also came against one of the sides Blackpool will have been hoping to catch between now and the end of the season.

In truth, Nottingham Forest showed there’s still a sizeable gap between Neil Critchley’s side and the top six.

There’s no shame in that, none whatsoever. It’s been said many times but the fact we’re even discussing Blackpool and the play-offs at the start of April is some achievement in itself.

But, looking longer-term, this could prove to be an invaluable lesson for the Seasiders because Steve Cooper’s impressive side - the best I’ve seen play Blackpool this season - showed them what it takes to be in the mix for promotion from the Championship.

In some respects Critchley is right to say there wasn’t a great deal between the two sides in general play.

Blackpool were arguably the better team in the first-half in that respect and, in terms of stats and numbers alone, they were on top. But that’s where the advantage ends.

When the Seasiders forced their way into the final third, which they did on a relatively regular basis, there was no cutting edge whatsoever.

They were very good at forcing Forest into mistakes and turning the ball over near to their own goal, but they utterly failed to capitalise on these instances.

Too often a player would dawdle on the ball, choose the wrong option or fail to pick out a teammate at the all-important moment. The decision-making just wasn’t there.

Forest, on the other hand, were absolutely clinical. Clinical in thought, clinical in precision, clinical in finishing.

If a pass was there to be played, they played it. If the ball was there to be dispatched, they dispatched it. It sounds simple, and at times Forest made it look incredibly simple, but it’s not always the case.

The most telling statistic from the first-half is that the visitors managed three shots on target and scored them all.

You could say there was fortune in the opener, where Philip Zinckernagel’s shot deflected and looped over Dan Grimshaw, but it’s probably advisable not to leave a player in acres of space inside your own box.

Yes, the deflection was unlucky, but mark tightly and that opportunity probably doesn’t even fall for him in the first place.

Again, Critchley is right to suggest his side forced plenty of pressure on Forest’s backline, but it was mostly fairly average crosses into a crowded box.

On another day one of those crosses might have fell to a Blackpool player inside the area, but that’s all a little hopeful, isn’t it? The Seasiders are better than ‘hoping’ for something to happen.

Pool certainly didn’t help themselves at the other end, either. While Forest deserve credit for forcing them into mistakes, some of their passing was so lax. I lost count of the number of passes that were misplaced or went astray.

Perhaps most alarming is that most of them seemed to come from goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw, who is normally so assured with the ball at his feet.

He got away with a couple, but he wasn’t so lucky when he literally drilled the ball straight to the feet of the excellent Brennan Johnson, who did the rest by exquisitely chipping the ball over the embarrassed keeper.

That came after the 20-year-old had already netted Forest’s second of the afternoon in clinical fashion when a pullback deflected off Kevin Stewart’s heel into his path.

Again, there was slight fortune in the way the ball landed at Johnson’s feet, but questions must also be asked why no-one was there to close him down when it did.

This might sound over-critical, but these are the small details that matter and these are the fine margins Blackpool will have to improve if they’re going to go one better next season.

Otherwise, I do have some sympathy with Critchley’s argument that his side were well in this - although I do take umbrage with his assertion Pool “weren’t second best”. When you lose 4-1, that’s always going to sound a little disingenuous.

But in terms of their organisation, their setup and their chance creation, Blackpool didn’t play poorly at all. They just came up against a better side and lost and there’s no shame in that.

Sometimes though, I’d suggest that’s all you need to say. You don’t need to pretend the game was something it wasn’t.

It was just a shame Blackpool’s defeat, their joint highest of the season, came in front of their highest home attendance.

There’s only one way to put it right though and that’s by issuing a response in their next game - and what better way to do it than winning at Deepdale?

The Seasiders normally tend to respond well to damaging defeats or any setbacks they endure, so fingers crossed that’s the case once again in the derby in midweek.

The national spotlight will be shining down on them for a second game running, so let’s hope to see a much improved display (and result!).