'A born winner:' The Portsmouth verdict on Blackpool's new midfielder - and what the ex-Wigan Athletic, Wolves and Ipswich Town promotion winner will bring to Bloomfield Road

The 29-year-old made the move to Bloomfield Road on a two-year contract as a free agent following the conclusion of his short-term deal at Fratton Park - where he made four appearances during the final two months of last season.

Prior to his move to Pompey, Evans had spent two-and-a-half years with Ipswich Town, and was a key man during the early stages of Kieran McKenna’s tenure in charge of the Blues.

His time at Portman Road was hindered by repeat knee injuries, with surgery required back in October to rectify the issue.

The ex-Wolves, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United man departed the Suffolk outfit back in January after his contract was mutually terminated, to allow him to find game time elsewhere.

We asked The News’ Neil Allen more about Evans’ recent stint with Portsmouth and the impact he had during his short time with the club:

What type of player are Blackpool getting on and off the pitch?

“He’s a serial winner. He had just got back from his injury and could’ve stayed with Ipswich until the end of the season to see out his contract, but he wanted to play football so he negotiated his release and ended up at Pompey - who were desperately short of midfield options with all of their injuries around that point of the season.

“That says a lot about him as a character, he didn’t want to sit there doing nothing, earning good money; he was ready to scrap his contract to go elsewhere to play. That shows what a cracking attitude he’s got and why he’s so highly regarded among players and managers.

“He’s got a phenomenal record and that’s no coincidence - he’s a born winner.

“Even though he didn’t contribute too much on the pitch for Pompey, there’s no doubt he was a huge influence off it.”

Was his character and influence clear straight away?

“He’s just got leadership, it was a very canny signing from Pompey - there was no risk, it was a no-brainer.

“It was an ideal signing to usher a club over the finishing line. Pompey had imploded in previous seasons in League One, so bringing in someone like that was worth its weight in gold.

“There’s no doubt he was disappointed by his lack of appearances, but let’s not forget Pompey were top of the league before he arrived and had a very good team.

“He did start a couple of games, including the one where they won promotion against Barnsley, so he was trusted.

“We didn’t see too much of him but he was an important player to have in the squad.”

What was his fitness status at Portsmouth and is he now ready to go for pre-season?

“There’s no doubt he’ll be ready for pre-season. He’d been struggling with the same injury for a while so decided to have something done about last year, but there were no issues at Pompey.

“He was a regular in training so he should be over his past issues.”

Was he ever close to staying at Fratton Park?

“I don’t think there was ever really any real chance of him staying. Pompey got promoted and released a number of players.

“I never got the impression he was that close to staying, he just managed to help them over the line in the end.”