Blackpool first-team coach on ambitions, experience from interim spell, and learning from Steve Bruce

The 41-year-old is a familiar figure at Bloomfield Road, having featured 56 times for the Seasiders across four loan spells during his playing career.

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, with the Seasiders producing some notable displays under him despite their eventual relegation to League One.

Discussing how the opportunity arose, Dobbie said: “I’d been at the club helping Michael Appleton with some sessions. When Mick (McCarthy) and TC (Terry Connor) came in, I was up almost every day helping, so I knew all of the players.

“I had my own thoughts about different players and what I would implement if that chance came about - which it did.

“I loved the experience, and it kind of showed I could handle it. The team did quite well with three wins, to do that in the Championship was really good.

“Until you get thrown into the mix you don't know if you can do it. It’s an aim for any young coach to see how far they can go, I loved it.

“Then Neil (Critchley) came in, and it felt right for the club for me to go back to develop the younger players.”

Following Bruce’s arrival on the Fylde Coast last month, Dobbie was handed a permanent first-team role, with Steve Agnew, Richard Keogh and Steve Banks also included in the current backroom staff.

“It’s been great, the gaffer’s career speaks for itself, so to learn from someone like him, and Steve Agnew, who have been around for a long time has been great,” he added.

“You can always learn and improve. So when they put on the sessions, it’s things they’ve done before with higher teams. It’s about finding out how he approaches, why he’s doing it, and why he’s made certain decisions during games. You can only learn good stuff off him.

“A lot of young coaches take a lot of information in, and there’s a lot of help with the different courses you can do online.

“With Michael and Mick, and now the gaffer, the main thing I look at is how they deal with situations and why they make decisions. Some you’ll take and some you’d do differently - that’s the beauty of football, it’s all about different opinions.”

Dobbie had been planning for life after playing long before his retirement, and admits there is not much difference between his early roles and what he’s doing now.

“I’d been coaching after going back to Queens in 2016,” he stated.

“I started helping with the reserves on my days off because you’ve got to put the work in. I then got promoted to first-team strikers coach, putting the drills together and finding out what each individual needs.

“When I went to Fylde I was five or six years down in my journey. In my last year, I tore my calf really bad, which took me four months to get back. Full credit to their medical team because they let me retire on the pitch instead of on the table.

“The time was right, and the opportunity came along to join the Blackpool development team.

“It was the same principle as working with the first-team. Even now working with Jordan Rhodes, he’s 34-years-old, but the principles are still the same, you can always get better.

“You do a lot of similar stuff but just with better quality players.

“The journey has been about learning. There’s that much difference; only now you’ve got to win at the weekend.

“Seeing Kyle Joseph getting on the scoresheet regularly is the pleasing part, but getting the team to win is the most important part.”