Mick McCarthy on Blackpool's 'unacceptable' form and whether they have the quality to stay up

Following their 3-1 defeat to Reading on Saturday, the Seasiders have now only won one of their last 17 league games.

It leaves them 23rd in the table, four points adrift of safety with only 12 games remaining – starting with league leaders Burnley next Saturday.

When it was put to McCarthy that this run of form simply can’t continue, the veteran boss said: “It can but we don’t want it to. We’re trying everything we possibly can to stop it.

“It’s unacceptable as a team. What happens if it continues? We’ll get relegated.

“We’re going to have to try and turn this round which is what we’re doing, but it can carry on but we’re trying to stop it.

“There’s not one of those players out there that haven’t tried.”

When asked if he has enough quality in his ranks to stave off relegation, McCarthy added: “Well, we’ll find out over the next 12 games.”

The one and perhaps only positive for the Seasiders is that they now have a free week without a midweek game, having endured a hectic period which has seen them play seven games in the space of just 21 days.

Unfortunately next up is Vincent Kompany’s all-conquering Burnley, who put Neil Warnock and Huddersfield Town to the sword on Saturday with a resounding 4-0 victory.

That leaves the Clarets 19 points clear of Middlesbrough in third having lost two of their 34 games so far this season.

Looking ahead to that tricky task, McCarthy concluded: “I see it like we’ve got the worst possible game we could have hoped for and the hardest game we could have hoped for.

“But out of adversity comes strength, so let’s hope that is the case.

“If I go in to speak to the lads and I’m miserable then dear me, we’d be in serious trouble and I may as well pack in.

“As long as there’s a spark of life in me, we’ll be trying to keep this team in the league.”