Blackpool in the Premier League: Valeri Belokon's lofty ambitions for the Seasiders

After Pool’s contrasting fortunes against Wigan Athletic, Arsenal and Fulham, the Seasiders had a week off thanks to the international break.

However, as STEVE CANAVAN found out, the club’s president had high hopes for the future....

Valeri Belokon believes the Seasiders’ next target must be to win trophies and get into Europe.

Pool’s Latvian president has no qualms about spelling out his lofty ambitions for a club that was languishing at the bottom of League One when he first invested his cash a little over four years ago.

Belokon has complete faith in manager Ian Holloway to continue the success story, and total belief that the Tangerines will continue to go from strength to strength.

He said: “A person shouldn’t be standing still, because if you stand still you get into yesterday and things go backwards. We should always go onwards.

“For me, the next steps have to be to get close to Europe and cups – any European competition or any cup.

“I feel we could have a good chance to get to the Europa League at some point. Fulham did it, so it can happen.

“I’m not optimistic, I’m realistic. If anything, I’m a pessimist because I said we’d make it to the Premier League in five years and it took only four.

“Ollie broke my plan! I wanted the revolution slower. Because of him I didn’t keep my word and people will think I’m a liar!”

Belokon spent two days with Holloway last week as Pool took advantage of the international break to visit Latvia.

While the team trained and played a match against Latvian champions FK Jelgava, Holloway held talks with the president.

It is clear Belokon likes Holloway and greatly respects what he has achieved.

Belokon added: “I have always liked Ollie, since he first put the words ‘Blackpool’ and the ‘Premier League’ together in the same sentence.

“I’ve always enjoyed his company. He is very emotional, very clever and a good man. You can feel his emotions and passions.

“If you look at his personality, his life, his history, he is really a person to be fond of.

“I like the fact that if Ian is angry about something he will tell us. That’s how it should be.”

Belokon is also a huge admirer of Blackpool’s fans, saying that without their backing the club would not have achieved what it has.

“I want to say I am very proud of our supporters,” he added.

“I think of the game against Arsenal, when we were losing 5-0 and Arshavin went over to a team-mate to ask what our supporters were shouting.

“He was told they were singing, ‘We will win 6-5’ and Arshavin told this story to Russian media.

“‘What a strange club Blackpool are’, he said, ‘and what supporters they’ve got’. He is right and that’s why I want to say thank you to the fans.

“When I said we would get to the Premier League, even if many people didn’t believe, I certainly knew there were many supporters of the club who were dreaming about it.

“That’s why I talk about Europe and such things now because we all need total belief if it is going to happen.

“So I would like our fans to believe this and support this idea, and then maybe one day we really will beat Arsenal 6-5!”