Family downtime won't get in the way of Neil Critchley's quest to strengthen Blackpool squad

The Seasiders are yet to announce any new signings, although the 2021/22 season did only finish just over two weeks ago.

While clubs can’t officially register new players until the window opens on June 10, a number of clubs have already made their first foray into the transfer market.

While Critchley has stressed the need to take a break and spend quality time with his family, he knows he can’t afford to take his eyes off the ball.

“You never completely switch off, you don’t. It’s very difficult to,” he told the club’s end-of-season review show.

“Even when we go away for a little bit, the laptop will come with me and the phone will come with me because you have to be ready.

“There’s always that fear of missing out that drives you forward and you don’t want to miss out on a player or something you think could help with the club.

“You don’t switch off, I’ll be on my phone, I’ll be working. But it’s also important you do enjoy that family time.”

Since the season finished at Peterborough United on May 7, Critchley has spent his time wisely speaking to players and staff to analyse how the campaign went.

“You get time to reflect and evaluate where you are on and off the pitch,” he added.

“We speak to staff and we’ve already done that as a group, I make sure I do that individually as well.

“To move forward, it’s really important to realise where you’ve been and how you got there, but there are always areas to improve.

“You’ve got to know what you’re trying to improve and how you’re going to do it, so giving yourself more thinking time is important.

“A big part of the summer is recruitment, so you’re talking to numerous people. That’s a real strength of ours with the staff we’ve got here and the support I get, the communication we have on a daily basis.

“Then it’s about watching players and planning things for next season at the training ground, where there’s a little bit going on.

“You have some family time as well, which is important.”