Why Mick McCarthy won't be dishing out the hairdryer treatment to his Blackpool players any time soon

The Seasiders have won just one of their last 16 league games, a miserable record that leaves them in 23rd place and four points adrift of safety.

McCarthy’s men failed to build on their win against Stoke City at the weekend by following it up with a lacklustre display during their midweek 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.

While the 64-year-old admitted it was the most disappointed he’s been since taking over at Bloomfield Road, he doesn’t feel like laying down the law is the right way to go about things.

“Strangely enough I think I get seen as someone who gives the hairdryer, but I’m not at all. I’m more of a cajoler, an encourager,” he said.

“On a daily basis information is given from me and TC (assistant Terry Connor) to try and help them. Not just berating them in the dressing room, because that has certainly changed.

“The manager used to stand swearing at you telling you you’re useless and then you’d have to come in on a Monday morning and play, I never really thought that was a good tactic anyway.

“Sometimes the voice gets raised because I think it’s necessary. It did on Tuesday night but not for long and then I’m back in on Thursday and we all have to be mates. We’ve all got to say hello to each other, shake each other’s hands and look at each other’s eyes and then go down to Reading and play again.”

McCarthy has a reputation of being a straight-talking old-fashioned manager, but he claims that’s not entirely fair.

“Being straight-forward doesn’t always suit everybody, does it? Saying it as it is…not everyone likes it,” he added.

“But that’s who I am, that’s who I’ve been for a long, long time. For as long as I can remember and it’s served me well because at least there’s no mixed messages.

“The lads don’t go out there and lose on purpose, they go out and try for you. The harder they try for you, the more chance you’ve got of getting results.

“I’ve been a player and I hated it when a manager berated you on a Saturday and didn’t speak to you until Wednesday and then Thursday ‘oh, we’ve got a game on Saturday we better speak to the players’.

“That’s complete nonsense, but I had it. I don’t subscribe to it at all.

“Monday morning, win, lose or draw we’re always in here. Or Sunday morning as it has been recently because we’ve had two or three games a week.

“They get a handshake and we get on with it, whatever the result.”