Brett Ormerod column: My Blackpool team-mate Ian Evatt's fantastic achievement at Barrow

At the start of the season, I don’t think anyone would have bet on Barrow getting automatically promoted to the Football League.

I’m glad it’s finally been sorted for him because it would have been a huge shame had promotion been scrapped.

He has a great set of lads there and has filled them with confidence.

We’ve still got a group chat with all the old Blackpool lads and we’ve all been congratulating him. It’s unbelievable what he’s managed on their budget.

It really would have been cruel had it been snatched away from them because they’ve been top of the league for most of the season.

I think he was offered the AFC Fylde job but turned it down because he knew he had some special lads and he liked the chairman.

Barrow is not a massive club by any means. It’s a ‘little Blackpool’ getting to the Premier League in its own way because of the budget and everything else. There are a lot of big teams in the National League.

It’s funny how it works out. There are plenty of players you do think will go into management and others you don’t. Things don’t always turn out how you expect.

When I was at Southampton, Garry Monk was in the reserves and didn’t really get a game with the first team. All of a sudden he jumped into management like a duck to water.

I guess as a player you don’t know how it will work out in management until you try, but Evo took the Barrow job and got his just rewards.

For Barrow to be back in the Football League is an absolute dream for their fans.

I see he’s been linked with the Bolton Wanderers job. I don’t know if he’ll be interested but it’s no surprise other teams are taking notice.

He’s been in the game a long time and played under some very, very good managers. I’m sure he’s taken a bit from every one, kept some bits he likes and got rid of others he doesn’t.

He’s never looked out of his depth and his team have always played good football.

John Hills and I had a brief spell at Fylde, so we watched a few Barrow games on DVD. They played very much in the Ian Holloway way – good football, with great energy and lads getting on the ball. Evo’s taken the National League by storm and I have nothing but admiration for him.

As for Fylde, it looks likely they will be relegated, which would be a massive blow. It’s been a tough season for them, a very transitional season, and it just shows what can happen when things aren’t quite right.

Sometimes it takes quite a bit of time to fix, Manchester United being the biggest example. It doesn’t always go smoothly.

Fylde will be back, but we just felt when we went in that they had just lost their way a little and lost a bit of confidence. We won some games there but, more importantly, we put smiles on faces and got the lads enjoying their football again, which is one of the most important things.

It’s a tough league, with clubs like Wrexham and others who have been in the Football League for a long timet. The longer you’re in it, the harder it is to get out. That just makes Evo’s achievement all the more remarkable.

League One has been cancelled, although the play-offs are still going ahead. There will always be that question of ‘what if?’ because there’s always a team that has a late run and one that drops out.

But difficult as it is, it’s probably the right decision. A friend of mine who supports Tranmere is devastated because they were playing some good stuff before the season was suspended.

I watched them at Blackpool in the last game and you could see they had momentum. I thought Micky Mellon would get them out of it.

They didn’t look like a side in the relegation zone and had won three on the bounce, so it’s a kick in the teeth for them because I honestly believe they would have got out of it. It’s been decided now, and it’s just about getting these remaining games done now and getting the season finished and put to bed.

As for Blackpool, from the performances I watched, when they were good they were really good but when they weren’t, they were poor, so mid-table is about fair.

The new manager has had time to assess and I’m sure he now knows what he needs to add to the squad.

They were playing some good football in the short time Neil Critchley was in charge before the lockdown.

It is going to take time but that’s something the new manager has been gifted with and is something most managers don’t get.

He’s got time to assess his team and build for next season.

And with an ambition chairman behind him, it could be an exciting season ahead for Blackpool.