McDonald: Blackpool must jump off rollercoaster

The Seasiders have been pretty consistent in their form this season – short winning runs sandwiched between longer losing ones.

This hasn’t come as a major surprise to the Seasiders boss, who warned Pool fans back in November to expect an up and down season.

But he wants an end to it, starting now. McDonald said: “We seem to be on a bit of a rollercoaster of results. We now need them to settle down.

“It was a great feeling to win 5-0 against Scunthorpe. We stopped the rot, which was great, but we now need to stop these rollercoaster results.”

Pool had lost three in a row before Saturday’s five-star show and McDonald says that mustn’t be repeated.

“We need to stop the losing runs,” he added. “We have three tough games coming up, starting with Walsall away, but we need to get as many points as possible and the 5-0 win gives us hope. It can give us confidence.

“Before the three defeats we had won three, so we know how to win games.”

This weekend’s trip to the Midlands is the Seasiders’ only match away from Bloomfield Road all month.

Sheffield United head to the Fylde coast next Tuesday before Gillingham’s visit the following Saturday.

And the manager feels home form could be crucial this season. McDonald said: “It’s always important to try to pick up points at home.

“Our record at Bloomfield Road has been good this season, apart from one or two games.

“Hopefully we can get something against Walsall and then perform in the home matches. If we can do that, it will make a real difference in the league table.

“We are happy with Saturday’s performance, with the commitment and quality.”

Saturday’s superb win against Scunthorpe caught many by surprise after Pool had failed to score in their previous two games.

McDonald says the change in his side is easily explained. “The tempo we played at made such a difference,” he said.

“We were also clinical for the first time this season.

“We were on the front foot and everyone had a spring in their step.

“Let’s not get too carried away but we created lots of chances, scored lots of goals and kept a clean sheet. It was very pleasing.”