Neil Critchley is seeking the perfect blend for his Blackpool squad

The promotion-winning Bloomfield Road boss wants to get the blend of youth and experience just right next season.

That has proven to be a winning formula for the 40-year-old in the past and it is a policy he is looking to replicate as he attempts to get the Seasiders out of League One for a second time.

Critchley, who returned to the club following spells with Aston Villa and QPR, doesn't discriminate when it comes to recruitment, he won't target a particular demographic, having experienced success with a mixed age group previously.

He signed younger pros such as Ethan Robson, Beryly Lubula, Demetri Mitchell, Daniel Grimshaw, Shayne Lavery, Callum Connolly, Sonny Carey and Jordan Gabriel, who had an average age of 22 in his first stint.

And he balanced that out with players who had been there and done it when bringing in the likes of Luke Garbutt and Kenny Dougall – both 27 at the time of signing – as well as Richard Keogh, who was 34 when putting pen to paper.

He said: "I'm just hoping for good players, age is irrelevant.

"We want to be a club that develops their own younger players in the academy and that's where Ciaran [Donnelly] and his staff, and the work they're doing, will hopefully bear fruit in the future.

"Last time we were successful in bringing some younger players in who did well, we developed them and gave them a chance to play regular football, but around them we also had some really good senior players with experience. That's vital as well so it's about getting the balance right."

Despite conjecture suggesting otherwise heading into the 2022-23 campaign, Critchley confirmed that he'd been given the green light to replenish his troops.

Any opinions to the contrary, he blasted, were a complete fallacy as Blackpool looked to build on their 16th place finish in the Championship.

With plans in place to enquire about a number of players prior to his premature exit, the former Crewe Alexandra midfielder said: "That was completely false, utter nonsense.

"I had great support in my time at this football club, there was complete alignment, great communication throughout it, which allowed us to make good decisions. That is one of the reasons why it was successful.

"I'd already spoken to players, we had a recruitment process in place, and if those targets had been there and available at the time - bearing in mind this was well before pre-season had started - then I would've got the support again to do what we needed to do. That was well off the mark.

"I was fully supported last time, within the resources in which we had at the football club. I'm happy with that, I'm comfortable working like that."