'It’s on us today' - Neil Critchley's immediate reaction to Blackpool's defeat to Reading as they fall short of the play-offs

Karamoko Dembele opened the scoring at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, before Sam Smith pulled the Royals level at the end of the first half. After the break, goals from Harvey Knibbs and Femi Azeez put the home side in the driving seat, while Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel claimed a late consolation for the visitors.

Elsewhere, Oxford United secured their place in the top six with a 2-1 victory over Exeter City, but Barnsley and Lincoln City both dropped points, as the Tykes drew 1-1 with Northampton Town, while the Imps lost 2-0 to Portsmouth.

Reflecting on the defeat to Reading, Critchley said: "It’s on us today. I said it all week, it was irrelevant what happened elsewhere, we knew what we had to do. Our home form has been outstanding, but it’s been away from home, you can look back to the start to the season, it’s that feeling of ‘what if.’

“We started well obviously, and felt we were quite comfortable in the first half, Grimmy (Dan Grimshaw) had nothing to do. We had a big moment to go 2-0, Kyle (Joseph), the keeper made a big save. The goal we gave away before half time was really poor, there was too much time for the man in the box.

"We started the second half better and had the ascendancy, but Reading knew we had to win the game. If we had been better in certain moments then we would’ve capitalised on the space they gave us.

"I thought there was a clear foul on Kyle Joseph for their second goal, but that probably sums up our story with the referees this season, but that’s not the reason we lost. We kept going until the end, but it’s not today, it’s over 46 games, and in certain games we’ve fallen short.

"If there hadn’t been a goal for another five or 10 minutes, I feel the game was turning in our favour, and they scored at a really important time. We had the game and we let it slip.

"It's not a nice feeling to end the season, but it makes it clear in my mind what we need to do if we want to improve. We’ve not done our job, so it’s not about elsewhere, it’s about here, and that’s on us- that’s the feeling I’ll have throughout the summer.”