Blackpool boss Mick McCarthy holding counsel on Chris Badlan's surprise departure

The club announced on Tuesday afternoon that their sporting director was to leave his role with “immediate effect”, just four months on from his appointment.

No reason was given, with the Seasiders only releasing a brief 25-word statement on the matter.

The departure of Badlan, who was responsible for recruitment while also overseeing the club’s search for a new head coach, could well be linked to comments he reportedly made to a supporter in recent weeks.

It’s claimed he referred to the Armfield Club – a bar located a stone’s throw from Bloomfield Road and named after club legend Jimmy Armfield – as the “Arndale”.

The Armfield Club’s official Twitter account made reference to this in a post on Monday.

“Announcement. We are called The Armfield Club after the club legend Sir Jimmy Armfield,” they wrote.

“Can someone make sure some of the new hierarchy know this? Thank you #notthearndale"

It’s also been claimed that Badlan leaked Blackpool’s team news the day before their derby defeat to Preston North End.

When asked to comment on Badlan’s surprise departure, McCarthy said: “I’ve got nothing to say about it really because we’ve got the biggest game we could possibly have on Friday against Cardiff, who are arguably the team we could catch along with Reading after they were docked points.

“Whatever has gone on has gone on, I’m only concentrating on the game and getting the players ready for that.

“Forgive me, but I’m not going to comment on it.”

Following last weekend’s defeat to Blackpool’s fiercest rivals, McCarthy’s side are four points adrift of safety with just seven games remaining.

Despite the Deepdale setback, as well as the disappointing nature of it, McCarthy insists the mood is as good as it can be.

“The week has been good, training has been good. We’ve had a look back at the game but there’s nothing we can do about that now,” he said.

“We’ve got arguably the most important game of all coming up, so we need to concentrate on that.”