Blackpool decision made on ex-Crystal Palace and Bolton Wanderers man following Ian Evatt appointment
Stephen Dobbie will remain with Blackpool as part of Ian Evatt’s backroom staff.
Blackpool have confirmed Stephen Dobbie will remain with the club on the back of Ian Evatt’s appointment as head coach.
The former Seasiders forward took charge of three matches following the sacking of Steve Bruce earlier this month.
His first game in charge ended in a 1-0 defeat away to Stockport County, before his side secured their place in the next round of the EFL Trophy with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest U21s on Tuesday night.
Dobbie looked on course to secure a league win as well against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, but a 112th minute equaliser from Jack Grimmer cancelled out Ashley Fletcher’s opener.
After working as part of Bruce’s backroom staff, the 42-year-old will now continue in a similar role under his former teammate Evatt - who has brought Stephen Crainey with him as his assistant.
Meanwhile, Steve Banks will also continue to serve as goalkeeper coach, with the former Blackpool shot stopper having been in the position since 2019.
Dobbie’s time with Blackpool so far
Dobbie has been a familiar figure at Bloomfield Road for a number of years, having featured 56 times for the Seasiders across four loan spells during his playing career.
Alongside his stints on the Fylde Coast, his CV also includes the likes of Swansea City, Crystal Palace and Bolton Wanderers.
After hanging up his boots in 2022, the retired striker returned to Blackpool once again - this time in a coaching capacity.
While his initial role prominently involved working with the club’s development squad, there were also opportunities for Dobbie alongside the senior staff at various points.
This eventually led to the Scotsman taking charge of the first-team at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, before joining Bruce’s backroom staff last September.
Dobbie’s views on progress
Following Saturday’s draw with Wycombe, Dobbie shared his belief that there had been signs of improvement during his interim spell on charge.
“We’ve tried to implement different things on how we hurt the last line and how we build the game,” he stated.
“With three midfielders in there, it’s been about how we get control. We know how they can hold onto the ball, so that’s what we tried to do against Wycombe.
“We had the rotation of Albie (Morgan) trying to get forward and helping Fletch (Ashley Fletcher) - which I thought we did quite well in the first half.
“I feel they’ve grown. At the end of the Stockport game we were in the ascendancy to get the goal, and we put in a plan that we’ve been working on. In the second half we dropped a bit deeper and didn’t do as well on the ball, and we were just looking for them to dig in and get over the line, but it didn’t go for us again.”
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