'The first to admit' - Ex-Blackpool midfielder makes admission on former Leeds United and Preston North End coach's career start

Former Blackpool midfielder Keith Southern believes Simon Grayson’s eye for recruitment was a major factor behind the club’s play-off triumph in 2007.

During his decade at Bloomfield Road, the now-Everton academy coach enjoyed two promotions in Tangerine, and was famously part of the 2010 team that reached the play-offs.

After missing out on a place in the 2004 EFL Trophy final, the 44-year-old’s first taste of success with the Seasiders was on this day (May 27) 18 years ago, as Blackpool claimed a 2-0 victory over Yeovil Town at Wembley to claim a place in the Championship - with goals coming from Robbie Williams and Keigan Parker.

It proved to be the first major achievement of Grayson’s coaching career after first being handed the manager’s role in 2005 after spending his final years as a player on the Fylde Coast.

Following that, the 55-year-old, who now works in Nepal, went on to enjoy further promotions with Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Preston North End.

Grayson’s early days as Blackpool coach

Despite guiding the Seasiders to a famous play-off win, Southern admits the years before that weren’t straightforward for Grayson.

“I’m sure he’ll be the first to admit that it wasn’t easy,” he said.

“It wasn’t easy for him, but I don’t think it’s easy for anyone to make that transition from player to manager.

“He kept us up at Scunthorpe, we lost the game, but results elsewhere meant we stayed in the league. That summer, he went to work in terms of his recruitment, and we signed some really good players.

“Evo (Ian Evatt) came in, Shaun Barker, Andy Morrell, David Fox, Claus (Bech Jørgensen) - there was a lot of change that summer. He had a good eye for recruitment.

“It didn’t click initially, so some patience was awarded to him, it could’ve been quite easy to change him. We then went on a great run, and finished third in the league.

“Winning at Wembley just put the cherry on the cake. We were a fantastic side, and it was a fantastic season - which was only topped by the Premier League promotion winning team.”

Wembley memories for Southern

Southern states he’s got great memories of the 2007 play-off final, especially with it being one of the first games to take place at the national stadium following its rebuild.

“Wembley was opened in the March or April, and we played at the back end of May,” the retired midfielder added.

“We were one of the first teams to play there, which was nice, but I remember the pitch being really poor that day. They were having problems with it, and it was a poor surface due to the exposure to light or something. They probably weren’t at the level they weren’t today.

“We won the game comfortably on the day, and Keigan Parker scored a lovely goal in the second half, and Robbie Williams scored a free kick. I’ve got really good memories from that day - which elevated us into the Championship. Great day, great memories.

“When you get to a play-off final, you’ve got to win. I’ve experienced it twice on the right side, but I’ve also experienced the downside when we lost in 2012.”

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