Blackpool boss Jose Riga urged his struggling side to draw inspiration from pushing Norwich City all the way despite a 3-1 Championship defeat that prolonged their wretched start to the season.

The Tangerines slipped to the bottom after a ninth winless league outing but Riga was adamant that barely told the story of a vibrant offering from the hosts.

The Belgian was generous in his praise towards Norwich during the build up and Riga witnessed nothing to alter his belief Neil Adams' squad is the best he had seen in the Championship this season.

'Norwich is the team that have impressed me the most in the Championship and unfortunately we saw that quality in the second half,' he said. 'I didn't think we gave them a lot of chances to score and I was really happy with our performance for much of the game, but we lost our focus a bit after scoring the goal. The second goal they scored also touched my player and without that maybe Joe Lewis can do something.

'We had control against this very good team, we took the lead, which was a lot of fun, but after we had the feeling the spaces between the lines grew bigger and we suffered defensively. That is normal because the opponent has to react. I think we could've got a draw - we were unlucky.'

Riga felt Norwich's late goal rush gave the final scoreline a harsh tint.

'There are many frustrations because others who only see the result will not know how well we played,' he said. 'People may remember the last part of the game more than the first but I remember the first hour, which was a really consistent display. Before the own goal Norwich did not have many opportunities and I have watched many of their games and the way they make goals shows you they can score very easily.

'When you are able to lead the game against this type of opponent it means something, but at the end we have no points and the same situation. We have given all that we can and the main reflection is always the same at the moment.

'We maybe didn't have the same number of opportunities but we had six shots on the target. Norwich score three times and we score one.

'The individual quality and experience made the difference.'