Chorley boss shares why Blackpool became home, impact after Crystal Palace move, and captaincy pride

One of Andy Preece’s biggest career honours came during his time with Blackpool - which helped to pave the way for a lengthy coaching career.

The 59-year-old, who has been in charge of Chorley in National League North since 2022, spent three seasons at Bloomfield Road back in the 90s.

After joining Sam Allardyce’s then-Seasiders from Crystal Palace in 1995, the forward scored 35 times across his spell in Tangerine.

At the time of his arrival on the Fylde Coast, Preece admits there was excitement in the air over proposed plans for the future.

While the promises of that time didn’t come to fruition, the Magpies boss has enjoyed watching progress unfold since at Bloomfield Road from the outside.

“The ground has changed massively to what it is now,” he said.

“When I came in, there were promises of a brand new stadium under Owen Oyston. They were showing me the plans.

“The old ground had open sides, it wasn’t as tidy as it is today. I’m sure some young fans will moan about the facilities, but compared to then; it’s like Wembley now.

“I had played a season in the Premier League with Crystal Palace, and was looking to drop back down. I could’ve possibly gone to a Championship club, but the stadium plans did make a bit of a difference because it looked like Blackpool were a club on the way up, with all the investment there.

“That was part of the attraction, it felt like it was going to be progressive, Sam Allardyce had just taken over, and there was the history as well. It felt like a sleeping giant, and I fancied the challenge.

“It was a smooth move, I was used to the area and the level. I came with a lot of enthusiasm and was really looking forward to it.”

A couple of years into his time with Blackpool, Preece was handed the captaincy at Bloomfield Road.

“It was unbelievable,” he added.

“I had never captained a club before, so to put on that armband was an extra responsibility that made you feel like the leader of the team.

“It makes you aware that you need to give that little bit extra, and having a connection with the fans.

“It was an unbelievable honour. Every time I stepped out as captain, I was absolutely buzzing. It was one of the highlights of my career to put on that armband.

“As I went on in my career I got those leadership skills, and that led me into coaching and management.”

Despite departing the Seasiders just under three decades ago, Preece still calls the Fylde Coast home, having never moved away from the town in the years since.

“When I went in, some of the staff were talking about how many players end up staying in Blackpool - and I became another one,” he noted.

“I’ve never moved since. I’ve been here for pretty much 30 years. It’s the kind of place where you do feel settled - it’s a friendly town and somewhere where all of my kids have grown up.

“I wasn’t so sure early on because I had quite a tough time. There was a little bit of a disconnect so it wasn’t easy, some of the friends didn’t like me at the start, but I had good friends which helped.

“When someone comes from the Premier League, if you don’t hit the ground running then questions are going to be asked of you. Blackpool paid money so they expect you to be scoring goals week in, week out.

“When I got left out of the team, I had something like eight goals and eight assists, and we had 21 goals as a team. It was felt that I wasn’t working hard enough, and at that time I was thinking about goals rather than being outside of the box and running channels.

“I had to earn that gradually over time, and I remember Sam (Allardyce) saying towards the end of the season: ‘I don’t know whether I prefer the Andy Preece scoring goals or the Andy Preece running every blade of grass.’”