Clarke Carlisle feels Blackpool will benefit from boss Neil Critchley's time away from Bloomfield Road

The 43-year-old former defender feels the Bloomfield Road boss will have enhanced his craftsmanship as a coach during scholarships with Aston Villa and QPR.

And it isn't only Critchley's further education that Carlisle says will play into the Tangerines' hands, as the promotion-winning head coach will also have made some valuable contacts along the way.

With the club cranking up its preparations for the 2023-24 campaign in League One, Carlisle said: "I think that Simon [Sadler] has made an astute move to get Critch in early doors because he is immediately synonymous with success at the club.

"All the fans can see that he's done it before, in recent years, and with a lot of the players who are currently there.

"He didn't leave on bad terms professionally, maybe one or two fans will have a sour taste in their mouth, as loyal fans always do when somebody leaves the club at a prosperous time, but the year that he's spent at Villa and QPR in-between will help."

Critchley, who had assured Blackpool's Championship status with a 16th place finish prior to his departure, was Steven Gerrard's right hand man at Villa Park for just over four months before surviving just 12 games in charge at Loftus Road over a two-month spell.

They might not have gone as planned, but they are experiences that could still prove profitable for Blackpool.

Carlisle continued: "I saw him say (in the Blackpool Gazette) that he feels a more accomplished coach after those experiences, and I can not help but believe that 100 percent.

"Those experiences will vastly benefit Blackpool in this scenario as well.

"I know he was only at Villa for a brief spell, but the connections he'll have made there, with Steven Gerrard and the coaching team at the club, with Aston Villa producing this wonderful, young talent, the likelihood is that those just below are going to be sent out on loan.

"I think his experiences at Villa, and the connections that he's made, means he'll be able to benefit greatly from fantastic, young talent from the Premier League. Perhaps not QPR, who are a club in utter turmoil.

"One of my old team-mates, Gareth Ainsworth, has taken over the ropes, and I think the only benefit he'd get from them is that they're going to let a lot of players out of the door.

"He might get some of those for cheap, even though I would question the calibre and attitude of players coming from there, but the players coming from Villa can be of great benefit."