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[Huw Evans Picture Agency] Brian Barry-Murphy reckons Cardiff City could benefit from defeat to Wycombe Wanderers as they prepare to host Blackpool on Saturday (12:30 GMT). Cardiff lost further ground on League One leaders Lincoln City after two late goals saw Wycombe triumph in the Welsh capital on Tuesday. The Bluebirds are enduring their trickiest run of the season having lost three of their past six league games, but an upbeat Barry-Murphy insists his team are in good shape.
"Over the course of the season we have been amazingly consistent," said the Cardiff boss. "There will be spells over any season where it's not perfect and our results at the moment are not perfect. "But it's really beneficial for the players to have a feeling of what it's like to feel like you deserve to win and don't.
How you bounce back and play in the following game is the most important thing. " Cardiff have lost back-to-back league games only once all season – at Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool in October – with Barry-Murphy believing his team have shown "great signs" in consistently responding to setbacks. Their cause against Wycombe was not helped by defender Gabriel Osho's contentious sending off late in the first half.
A second successive home loss means Cardiff are five points adrift of Lincoln City, though the gap to third-placed Bolton is a healthy 10 points with eight games of the season remaining. Barry-Murphy says his players must now focus on their meeting with relegation-threatened Blackpool rather than the league table. "We know what parts of our performance need to improve," he said.
"We just have to try our best to play the way we want to play and win the game. "