Should we spare a thought for Blackpool? After all, you’d have thought they had enough problems.

Struggling in the league, without a win, short of players and at one stage seemingly so unhappy with manager Jose Riga they interviewed candidates to replace him while, back on the Fylde Coast, he was still taking training.

Now they have another inconvenience. They have suddenly become the team others are most desperate to beat.

There will be twists and turns over the season. But don’t be the first team who loses to Blackpool. That will be the case for Albion on Saturday.

This undulating season – with ups and downs already in the first seven games – is taking another downward turn for the Seagulls.

But it only needs to have been a gentle, short-lived descent if they do what will be expected of them of them against the Tangerines.

Albion fans need not be too alarmed by back-to-back away defeats in the last few days.

Yes, there were failings at both ends of the pitch. They were too open at the back at Brentford and not incisive enough to make the most of some great attacking positions.

And they were undone around both penalty areas against an Ipswich side they matched for the vast majority of a less hectic contest at Portman Road.

It’s a division of fine margins. Even for Blackpool, who have pushed Wolves and Watford in the past week and not lost by more than the odd goal since the opening day.

They have tightened up but, as referenced by Blackpool Gazette reporter Will Watt above, need a bit of creativity.

As for Albion, where would they be now had Andrew Crofts’ shot at Griffin Park gone a foot or two further to the right rather than smacking the inside of the post?

Or had Lewis Dunk’s brave header at Ipswich been a yard wide of the keeper?

Or Sam Baldock’s touch on the edge of his own area been a little better just before the hosts scored their first?

There were quite a few good things about both performances.

And enough about the display at Portman Road to support Sami Hyypia’s selection, both in the changes he made and those he didn’t after Brentford.

But pluses fade from the memory after two defeats. The feelgood factor which blew early-season worries out of the water has in turn been replaced by a few concerns about where the season might be headed.

Nothing more serious than that. The new signings who excited people when they arrived are still there.

So is the attacking formation which many fans lauded as a refreshing change to Oscar Garcia’s more conservative approach.

The Argus:

Albion could do with a win. They could do with an upbeat afternoon in the sunshine at the Amex, as was the case when Blackpool visited 17 months ago (pictured above).

More than that, they could do without the fallout which would follow if they dropped points.

So spare a thought for Blackpool? Absolutely. Think about beating them.

This is suddenly a big game for the Seagulls.