Bowyer bans self-pity at Blackpool

That was the stark warning Blackpool boss Gary Bowyer sent out to his players after the 0-0 bore draw against Crawley Town on Tuesday night.

That draw, their fourth in a row in League Two, means Blackpool are still without a league win in 2017 and have failed to take advantage of their game in hand.

The Pool boss praised the efforts of his players but warned they can’t afford to get too down, with trips to Carlisle United and Portsmouth over the coming week

Bowyer said: “There’s no-one going to feel sorry for themselves because I won’t allow them to feel sorry for themselves.

“I’ve just said that in the dressing room and if anyone is feeling sorry for themselves they shouldn’t come in on Thursday.

“We knew the size of the job when we took it, so I’m not having people feeling sorry for themselves as that’s not what we’re about.”

The Seasiders were forced to rue Neil Danns’ first-half penalty miss as they struggled to break down a stubborn Crawley outfit, but Bowyer insists all is not lost in the hunt for a play-off finish.

The Pool boss said: “They kept fighting and you saw them come off the pitch frustrated because of how much they’d given, which is the minimum we demand.

“We tend to look at the glass half full and we are unbeaten in the last four games. If we can go and put a performance on that we are capable of at Carlisle and win the game, then people will be saying that’s five unbeaten now.”

The draw leaves Blackpool languishing 14th in the table. Their home form has been of particular concern, with no wins in the league since November.

“We possibly just need a scrappy 1-0 win,” Bowyer added. “We’ve scored fours and people were asking how we were managing it. It’s quite simple: people were converting their chances and we were getting past the goalkeeper.

“At the moment we’re finding goalkeepers making fantastic saves and we just need to take that bit more care in front of goal.”

Blackpool defender Luke Higham has extended his loan deal with AFC Telford until the end of the season.