Blackpool boss Mac goes on the attack

So far this term, much of the Seasiders’ play has revolved around keeping things tight and trying to nick a goal on the counter-attack.

But with only 12 games to play, Pool’s return to the League One relegation zone appears to have prompted a change of approach by the manager.

McDonald opted for a much more positive 4-3-3 formation on Tuesday night at Chesterfield.

However, it only yielded one point and McDonald said wins are now the only target for his side.

“We need to play like that for the rest of the season now,” he said.

“It’s important that we pick up points but we also need to win games now. We should have won the game on Tuesday.

“We have to go into games with that mentality now for the rest of the season.

“We changed the system to try to get our forward players on the ball and I thought it worked well.”

This afternoon Blackpool face an away test at Millwall, a side tucked nicely in the play-off places after a good run which has seen them lose just one of their last nine games.

And McDonald admits it’s another vital clash for his players.

McDonald said: “It’s a big game now – they all are. We need to win games now.

“Millwall are a good side, who are doing well in the league, but we saw a lot of good things in our play on Tuesday night.

“We should have won the game but it’s given us confidence now that we can go and perform away from home.

“The important thing now is to take that into today’s game.”

McDonald’s focus on attack means striker Danny Philliskirk is again expected to line-up alongside Jack Redshaw and Uche Ikpeazu, who made his full debut at the Proact in midweek.

Former Oldham frontman Phillisksirk is only too aware of the importance of the game.

He said: “We want to go to Millwall on Saturday, give a good account of ourselves, like we did on Tuesday, and hopefully get the three points.

“There will be times this season when people write us off and we end up picking points up, so we’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves.”