As against Coventry City on Sunday, Moyes selected a strong starting line-up with the only change seeing Tim Howard replace Carlo Nash in goal.

Along with Lescott, both Steven Pienaar and Louis Saha remained absent, meaning the bench was once more packed with youngsters.

It served to underline the threadbare nature of the Everton squad with the Premier League opener at home to Arsenal now only 10 days away.

The intended arrival of Philippe Senderos from the Emirates would at least ease the pressure on a backline that has yet to keep a clean sheet during pre-season and has sorely missed the presence of both Lescott and Phil Jagielka in recent games.

Jack Rodwell is not yet physically ready to step in at centre-back at top-flight level and had another education last night up against a robust Blackpool forward line.

Even if Moyes sticks to his guns and Lescott stays put, another central defender is certainly required to bolster the squad.

And having been unhappy with his team’s defending in the 2-2 draw at the Ricoh Arena, the Goodison manager will be apoplectic at the backline during the first half last night.

Before the game, the Bloomfield Road audience saluted the arrival of new Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, who responded in typically eccentric fashion.

And the Tangerines needed just four minutes to forge ahead when David Vaughan burst in between Rodwell and Leighton Baines down the inside right channel and hit a low shot across Howard into the bottom corner.

The lead was almost doubled moments later, when an excellent cross from the right by full-back Alex Baptiste was headed against the inside of the post by Jason Euell.

Everton eventually settled with Jo, the most promising performer of the summer, again to the fore.

The Brazilian shot at Blackpool goalkeeper Mark Halstead before netting the visitors’ equaliser on 17 minutes.

Halstead could only flap at a Baines corner from the right and, after Marouane Fellaini – who will have benefited from another 90-minute run-out – turned the ball goalwards, Jo was on hand to prod the ball home from a matter of yards.

Yet parity did not last long as, 11 minutes later, Everton were undone by some slipshod defending.

Phil Neville and Tony Hibbert were not on the same wavelength, which allowed Euell to nip in ahead of the Everton right-back and finish beyond the exposed Howard.

Jo spurned a chance of a second equaliser when he floated a shot over after Tim Cahill flicked on Fellaini’s lofted pass.

But Everton could have gone further behind shortly before the interval when Gary Taylor-Fletcher sent a free header wastefully over at the far post after being found by another fine Baptiste cross.

With Blackpool having replaced five players during the interval, Everton began the second half in determined fashion with Jo remaining the chief threat.

The Brazilian saw an early sighter saved, but drew a much better stop from Blackpool keeper Halstead with a venomous 20-yard shot after capitalising on a poor square pass from Will Haining.

Blackpool defender Rob Edwards was required to hack off the line before Jo was once again denied by a sprawling Halstead, substitute Jose Baxter agonisingly inches wide with his follow-up effort.

Another youngster, Lukas Jutkiewicz, headed a late chance wide but Everton could not conjure another equaliser.

The clock is ticking, and Moyes knows his players can do a lot better than this.