Opinion: If Blackpool are to be relegated, they've got to go down swinging

Fighting tooth and nail to preserve their Championship status, if the Seasiders are to go down they really ought to go down swinging.

How many times have we seen it in a ring where a fighter is down on the cards and looks to be out of the fight completely, only to produce one knockout blow to claim the victory seemingly out of nowhere.

In fact, it was only last weekend we witnessed exactly that when Mexican Mauricio Lara stole the world title off Nottingham’s Leigh Wood with a seventh-round KO, having been down on all three of the judges’ scorecards up to that point.

At this moment in time, Blackpool are barely throwing punches, never mind landing one that could inflict a punishing defeat.

Release the handbrake

Instead, the approach in recent weeks has been to stay in the fight. The win never realistically looks to be on the cards but they’re dodging and diving in a desperate bid to hear the final bell, to live to fight for another day.

That’s all well and good, but with games rapidly running out – there’s only 13 remaining – at some point Mick McCarthy’s side are going to have to twist, rather than stick and put some sort of run together.

And I don’t just mean one win, which we finally got against Stoke City at the weekend, but a win and a draw or, pray to god, back-to-back victories.

As we’ve seen this week, a victory and a defeat has done little for Blackpool’s survival hopes because the teams in and around them – namely Wigan, Huddersfield, Cardiff and Rotherham – have all picked up as well.

If Blackpool do go down, it will be devastating. We all know that. But if their relegation is confirmed with a whimper, that will only add to the lingering anger and frustration.

How much is left?

Of course, the question this all poses is that: do Blackpool actually have the quality within their ranks to impose themselves on games? To go all out and put opposition defences on the back foot for sustained periods?

They’ve managed it in glimpses – bizarrely it’s happened most recently when they’ve been down to 10 men – but at no point this season have we witnessed a dominant display where Blackpool have continuously been the side in the ascendancy. Or one certainly doesn’t spring to mind, anyway.

There’s another uncomfortable question we might have to ask ourselves: is this all Blackpool have got? Is there nothing left to give? Has the tank already been emptied?

A lot of you will contest that point, because it does seem McCarthy has adopted a more conservative approach where the goal is to stay in games and nick a goal on the break, from a set piece or with one moment of quality or good fortune, as we saw with Ian Poveda’s deflected winner against Stoke.

I don’t think there’s any doubt the Seasiders can offer more going forwards, because failing to register a single shot on target against Blackburn in midweek simply wasn’t good enough. McCarthy said so himself, so of course Blackpool could offer more.

The lack of a goal threat is there for all to see. It’s the main reason why Jerry Yates has endured a 16-game run without scoring in the league, because he’s not had the service. It’s certainly not down to a lack of effort (although that goes without saying with Jerry).

Only two sides in the division have conceded more goals as well, so it’s not like their defence is good enough to withstand pressure.

Blackpool have kept two clean sheets in their last four games, so it is improving. But is it enough to get the points they need between now and the end of the season to remain in the second tier? That’s the question.

Must win

Attention now swiftly turns to this weekend’s trip to Berkshire where Blackpool take on Paul Ince’s Reading.

With Burnley up next, this simply has to be a victory. I’m not writing off that game against the runaway leaders because you never know what could happen, Blackpool often perform better the higher level of opposition they’re up against. But they can’t really afford to put themselves in a position where they’re cut adrift down at the bottom ahead of a game against Vincent Kompany’s all-conquering Clarets who remain on course to finish the season with 100 points.

When that game does arrive, let’s hope it’s far more of a spectacle than the other all-Lancashire affair we witnessed at Ewood Park on Tuesday night, because it really was a dull game lacking in quality and action.

Blackburn weren’t up to a great deal themselves but as I wrote after the game, neither did they need to be. Their one moment of quality was enough to win the game and, barring a late flurry in stoppage-time, the Seasiders barely threatened. Goalkeeper Aynsley Pears have very little, if anything to do.

That comes back to the running theme of this column: Blackpool’s safety-first approach. It’s too late for that now, so it’s time to release the handbrake and see what happens.

Blackpool could well end up with egg on their face but what’s there to lose at this particular juncture?