Mick McCarthy addresses Blackpool's lack of a goal threat ahead of must-win Reading game

The Seasiders make the trip down to Berkshire looking to get back to winning ways after suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night.

McCarthy’s men failed to even register a shot on target while goalkeeper Aynsley Pears enjoyed a quiet night in between the sticks.

The result meant Blackpool remained 23rd in the Championship table, but now sit four points adrift of safety after their relegation rivals Rotherham United picked up a surprise win against Sunderland.

When asked what his side needs to do to avoid another lacklustre display against Reading on Saturday, McCarthy said: “We can pass the ball to each other, that would be a good start.

“We could win duels, win tackles, win headers, which we didn’t. We lost more than we won.

“We’ve got to be better with the ball, be calmer, because a lot of their chances came from us losing the ball when we had possession.”

Scoring goals on a regular basis has been an issue all season, but it’s been a particular concern in recent weeks with only one scored in Blackpool’s last four games.

When McCarthy took over at the end of January, he said his assistant Terry Connor would “get a tune” out of the club’s forwards.

But so far we’ve seen very little evidence of that, which McCarthy believes is partly down to the lack of recent time on the training ground.

“There’s been a bit of that,” he said.

“We’ve had finishing sessions and the lads have loved them to be honest. He does get the best out of them.

“There are times when just having them out finishing takes it out of them, because you’re using your energy, you’re striking balls and you’ve got to run and run. We’ve had a hectic schedule.

“We’ve had plenty of finishing sessions but we’ve not been able to do too much with the players out on the grass because it’s been play, recover and prepare for the next game.”