Stephen Dobbie's first words as Blackpool favourite takes over as caretaker boss

The 40-year-old has been put in caretaker charge for the remaining six games of the season following Mick McCarthy’s departure.

That occurred on Saturday, 24 hours after the Seasiders suffered a disastrous 3-1 defeat to rivals Cardiff City to all but confirm their relegation to League One.

Dobbie, who will be assisted by Matt Blinkhorn, spoke for the first time since taking on the role ahead of the Easter Monday trip to Luton Town.

Here’s what he told Tangerine TV:

How have the last 48 hours played out?

“I got a phonecall late on Friday night after the Cardiff game making me aware something might be happening.

“I came in on Saturday morning and found out Mick had obviously left. Ben (Mansford) and Simon (Sadler) had asked me, Blinks and Banksy to take the club forward for the next six games.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s been a surreal season but I’m going to try and get these players - especially in the attacking third - let’s go try and get some goals and go and attack some teams.”

How can the players improve over the next six games?

“I think there’s fight in the team. Obviously we’re down at the bottom for a reason but our job now is to get the confidence back.

“Can we get the likes of Josh Bowler, Ian Poveda, CJ Hamilton and Morgan Rogers to get some goals? But we also need to be defending a bit better than we have been.

“It’s all about getting some encouragement into the lads. It’s a challenge but I’m looking forward to it.”

Message to the squad ahead of Luton game

“We know Luton are a top team. They’re there for a reason, Rob (Edwards) has been doing brilliant so that will be interesting standing beside Rob.

“I know the fans will come in their numbers and they will be singing, so we want to show them that we’re fighting.

“We’ve got two home games coming up after it and we want to show we’re still in with a fight.”

How important will the fans be?

“Massive. Even when we were 3-1 down (against Cardiff) you heard them still singing, still trying to rally the team.

“Standing in the dugout listening to them is going to be a surreal experience but I think everyone knows what I think of the club and I’ll be trying 110 per cent to try and get out of this situation.

How proud will you be to lead the team out?

“Massively. From the start of the season coming in as a development coach was a huge thing for me to come back to a club where I’ve been at for numerous years.

“I’ve always had a great relationship with the fans so I’m hoping we can go and attack teams. Everyone knows how I like to attack, so we’ll see how it goes. Hopefully we can get a few wins on the board.”