Neil Critchley eager to build bridges at Blackpool and bring the good times back to Bloomfield Road

The 44-year-old former Crewe Alexandra midfielder appreciates and acknowledges that the situation could have been handled better when he departed to become Steven Gerrard's second in command at Aston Villa last summer.

But the promotion-winning Seasiders' head coach doesn't want his past to tarnish the future after he put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal at Bloomfield Road.

On his return, he said: "It's very special [to be back], and quite emotional. Thank you to Simon [Sadler] for the opportunity to be able to come back.

"I'm thoroughly looking forward to the task that lies ahead and getting to work with the players and staff, some of which I know, and reconnecting with the supporters again.

"The people that I worked with previously meant a lot to me. The club has had a little bump in the road, but there's no reason why we can't get back on track.

"We've taken a wrong turn in the last 12 months, but it's up to us to reset and become who we were. I'm fully confident we can do that."

He added: "It was incredibly difficult [to part with the club last summer]. It's much easier coming back than it was leaving and in hindsight I didn't handle that the way I should've done.

"I was new to management and I'd never been in that situation before, I learnt a lot from it and I'm aware there was a lot of disappointment. And rightly so!

"I also think that the disappointment in me leaving is also proportionate to the love that people feel for you as well. It can't change some of the memories and experiences that I had and we shared together, you can't delete them and I'm sure the supporters want them back as much as I do."

Critchley guided the Tangerines to promotion to the Championship via the play-offs in 2020-21 when overcoming Oxford United in a two-legged semi-final before seeing off Lincoln City at Wembley.

Kenny Dougall’s double was the icing on the cake at the national stadium after Blackpool had won half of their games to reach 80 points and climb to third in League One.

Mick McCarthy's successor is desperate to bring those good times back to the club following relegation from the second tier last term, but he knows he can only achieve that with everybody singing from the same hymn sheet.

Critchley understands that there'll still be an underlying air of bitterness and disappointment from a pocket of supporters, but he also knows that it was the togetherness, culture and connection between every facet of the football club that brought them success last time.

On building bridges at Blackpool, he continued: "It was up to me to go on record and thank Simon and the people at the football club and the supporters for the opportunity they had given me.

"For various reasons I didn't do that and I couldn't do that; I can't change that, I can only change what's in front of me now, and I apologise for it.

"You can't change the connection that we had, it was very special and it meant an awful lot to me. I'm confident that's the reason I'm coming back, that we can share more good times together.

"I've learned that hindsight is a wonderful thing and the value that you have in personal and professional relationships are very crucial to having success."

Critchley concluded: "I shared a fantastic relationship with Simon previously, that's a big thing for me coming back, and when you've got an alignment in your thinking and a strategy, and you know what you're aiming for and how you're trying to do it, that gives you a very good chance of being successful.

"It's very difficult because it's a very competitive world we're living in, but when everyone is pulling together, which we were, that gives you the best chance.

"The culture and the environment we created was the reason why we had success and what I was most proud of. That wasn't just me; we had an outstanding team behind the team.

"I got tremendous support and I'm just the fortunate one who gets to stand on the touchline on Saturday afternoon and lead the team. The players were incredible."