How former Leeds United, Marseille and Athletic Bilbao figure is inspiring Blackpool's play-off bid

Former Leeds United defender Olly Casey has revealed that he has shared his wealth of knowledge from Marcelo Bielsa to his Blackpool teammates.

Casey joined the academy at Leeds United from 10-years-old and went through all the age-grade teams before graduating to the first-team. He was brought in to the fold by renowned coach Bielsa.

Bielsa, who has some unconventional methods compared to more traditional British coaches, led the Whites to the Championship title in the 2019/20 campaign. Casey had made three senior appearances for Leeds, including an appearance off the bench against Huddersfield in their title-winning campaign.

He was an unused substitute for most part of Bielsa's tenure, but still found the experience beneficial. The 23-year-old has now become a consistent figure for the Seasiders this season.

“It was definitely something I’d ever experienced before, the training was really different to anything I’d done before,” admitted Casey to SportsBoom.com about the Argentine coach.

“But it was just so beneficial. You could see that back then with the results the lads were getting on the pitch and the promotion that season.

“As a young lad it was such a good time to have him as a coach, it benefitted me so much as a player. I developed so much.

“The detail he went into was crazy to be honest, but so much of that has stayed with me.

“I’ve brought that experience with me to Blackpool. It’s helped me so much and some of the things I’ve learnt, I’ve passed off to other players. It was really good for me.”

Casey departed Elland Road in 2021, joining on an undisclosed fee. He played six times in the Championship, before being loaned out to Forest Green Rovers in 2022. Casey suffered relegation from League One with FGR but it was his first real taste of playing regular first-team football, and he is grateful for his time at the New Lawn. The Leeds-born centre-back returned to Lancashire this summer and has been well equipped to deal with the demands of the third tier.

“The experiences I took from my time at Forest Green last season have definitely helped, I feel I’ve really bought into what the gaffer [Critchley] wanted and I’ve given everything I can on the pitch this season,” added Casey.

“I was at that point in my career [in 2022] where I needed to go out and get games, play regularly and get some experience under my belt.

“Even though we didn’t do well as a team on the pitch it was, for me personally, a great experience to play over 40 games.

“It was really good for me, I could have asked for anything better in terms of getting experience.

“I think once you start experiencing playing every well – and doing well – you just want more of it.”