Blackpool owner Simon Sadler insists returning boss Neil Critchley was 'by far the best candidate' in club's managerial search

The 53-year-old businessman, a proud custodian of the football club, staunchly advocated the ex-Liverpool coach's return.

After speaking to people in the know, employing an agency, and meticulously trawling through reams of spreadsheets, reports and portfolios, the pin continued to drop exactly where he thought it would.

Sadler described the process as exhaustive, with many candidates interviewed, but Sadler always felt that his one-time promotion-winning boss was by far and away the stand-out applicant.

"I tried as hard as possible to find somebody other than Neil," he quipped. "But we just kept coming back to him.

"We ran a fairly exhaustive and extensive search, we've spoken to a lot of people, we've done a lot of analysis, we employed an agency to run a quite in-depth report for us, it must've been 40/50 pages long, and when it came to the unveiling day we were flicking through it and someone's name kept popping up all the time.

"I could see where it was going! They were telling me something I think I already suspected. It's fantastic to have Neil back, I've always said how much I enjoy his company, how much I admire him, he did great things in the couple of years he was with the club. To use an old football cliche, I'm absolutely over the moon that he's back."

Critchley ended the Seasiders' six-season run of operating in the lower echelons of the EFL when lifting the club back to the Championship via the play-offs in 2021.

The Tangerines then more than held their own in the second tier when culminating the campaign in 16th spot with 60 points, beating eventual champions Fulham at Bloomfield Road along the way.

And it was his track record with the club that propelled him to the top of the list. "We need to get back on track," said Sadler.

"A whole series of circumstances have led to us being relegated. It's not where we want to be! We want to get back up and I think that Neil, by far, is the best candidate available for us to do that.

"He knows the players, he's taken us up before, he did a fantastic job in keeping us up in the Championship, we finished 16th, so that puts him at the top of our list.

"He knows everybody and the staff around the club are ecstatic, the vast majority of people can't wait to have him back. I'm looking forward to it and I'm really looking forward to the season ahead."