Buyers must be attracted to Blackpool says Terry McPhillips

Manager Terry McPhillips has found the new Blackpool regime very supportive

New Blackpool chief Ben Hatton expects homecoming match to be more dramatic than...

Any bidder would want proof the fans are still out there after years of boycotting but McPhillips doesn’t envisage a shortage of interested parties.

The Pool boss said: “I think it’s an exciting prospect having Blackpool on the market.

“I don’t know the politics of prices but I’m thinking you’ve got the stadium, the hotel, the training ground and a debt-free club.

“It’s a big club and all of the fans are going to be coming back. Hopefully we can do well for them and finish the season strongly.

“It must attract some potential new owners who think this club will be a bargain.”

McPhillips has had regular contact with the four-man board who are now in day-to-day control of the football club.

The man who heads that board, executive and managing director Ben Hatton, has been a huge helping hand for McPhillips, who added: “The board have been very busy but they’ve also been very professional.

“It’s on a need-to-know basis when I speak to them. I needed to know something on Wednesday, so I spoke to Ben to clarify it and the query got answered.

“So it’s good, and the receiver and the new board have been very good, I have to say.

“Everything we want to do they are supporting us with.

“When we met the new people, they asked us to tell them what needs to happen and we said, ‘It’s simple – Squires Gate needs to get better and so does the main pitch.

“To do that you need a plan. You can’t just say it will be all right next year – you have to start now.

“These professional people know that, and there are steps in place now to get that organised to plan for the future.”

The threat of a 12-point deduction is still hanging over the club but McPhillips remains quietly confident it can be avoided.

“I don’t think the decision was ever going to be made at the (EFL) board meeting on Wednesday,” McPhillips said.

“They’ve been talking and the new board have been putting their points across. They’re trying to get to know the club in different ways, the finances and who does what.

“Hopefully they get a good enough case to go back in a week or so and get it clarified, then hopefully we get no points taken off us.

“No-one can say for certain what will happen but I think they’re more than hopeful we can put a plan in place to move forward and not get the 12 points deducted.”