RIGHT-BACK Aaron Hardy admitted sloppy defending led to another Town defeat but promised: "We'll stick together and pull through this spell."

Saturday's 3-1 setback at Blackpool was Town's third in four games and their second in succession against the Seasiders, who won 1-0 the previous week to dump Peter Jackson's men from the FA Cup.

It left the Galpharm side 11th in League I (Blackpool are now 10th) and increased the pressure for a victory at home to seventh-placed Oldham this Saturday.

Hardy, who could lose out on a place in the starting line-up against the Latics because Andy Holdsworth returns from a one-match ban (as does skipper and midfielder Jon Worthington), was one of the three players singled out by Jackson for an individual mistake in the build-up to a Blackpool goal.

Centre-backs Nathan Clarke and John McCombe were the others called to account, but the boss also praised his players' workrate and character.

Hardy agreed, saying: "We'll always give 100%, and we'll stick together as a squad.

"You enjoy the plaudits when you win a game, but you also have to take the stick when you lose.

"It's not a nice feeling, and it was very disappointing on Saturday, because we thought we could have got something, especially when Gary Taylor-Fletcher got us back into it."

Taylor-Fletcher struck his ninth of the season in first-half stoppage time after Keigan Parker (26 minutes) and Keith Southern (30) had scored for Blackpool.

But hopes of a fightback ended when Andy Morrell netted on the hour, and Hardy admitted: "We were hopeful at half-time, and we should have put them on the ropes, but we conceded a third sloppy goal and, along with that mad five minutes in the first half, it cost us."

Hardy was full of praise for the 1,612 Town fans in a 7,414 crowd.

"They were very vocal and I just hope they stick with us and give us more good backing against Oldham," he added.

"It makes a big difference and all the players are desperate to reward them with a good home win.

"We're going through a tough spell at the minute, but we'll keep going and keep working hard to put things right.

"We know we have a strong enough squad to make a challenge, but we have to start producing on a regular basis.

"It's still relatively early in the season, and the table is still quite tight.

"But talking is no good, we have to keep our heads up, stick together and start winning games."