Bolingbroke: I'll never forget how club and community were reunited at Blackpool

The former chairman, who helped bring stability after the club was placed into receivership, opted to step down last week.But the former Manchester United and Inter Milan CEO says the memory of seeing Blackpool’s supporters flock back to Bloomfield Road after four years of boycotting will stay with him always.Bolingbroke told The Gazette: “It’s been great to be part of this and I’m just happy for the community.

"It’s at the heart of everything people do and success on the pitch makes everybody in the town happier.“Having a successful, thriving club at the hub of its community, right from the Community Trust through to the matches played on a Saturday, is really important.“Seeing the community come back together again around the club and being a part of that was very special. It will stay with me, most definitely.”Blackpool have averaged home crowds of 9,837 this season and Bolingbroke stressed the importance of supporters continuing to back their team.“I think clubs belong to their fans, but saying that the fans need to back their club,” he added.“Every fan that has bought a season ticket needs to persuade others to do the same. “If each season ticket holder persuaded two friends to come along with them, then you’d have 18,000 season ticket holders and how amazing would that be? That is what the fans could do because the club has put all the pieces together.“When you haven’t been to football regularly for a few years, you get out of the habit. We need to get people back into that habit again and that’s down to the fans.”Bolingbroke says Blackpool will always hold a place in his heart. “I will come back for games, definitely,” he said.“I told Simon (Sadler, owner) that but I need to be sure there’s a seat for me when I come back with the family! We’re all Tangerines now, so we will carry on supporting the club.”Bolingbroke arrived in February alongside Ben Hatton, who is now the club’s managing director. Both were set to remain at the club on an interim basis until this month, yet no announcement has been made on Hatton’s future.Asked if he believes Hatton will stay, Bolingbroke said: “I don’t know. I think Simon is beginning to take a hands on role, which he should as owner.“It’s more a question for Simon and for Ben but I think he may stay. The club will certainly need a managing director and Ben is very well qualified.”