Gary Taylor-Fletcher throws his hat into the ring for vacant Blackpool manager's job

The 38-year-old has exclusively told The Gazette he will be applying for the vacancy.

The former winger, who made 215 appearances for the Seasiders during a six-year spell, has experience of managing in Wales with Bangor City.

Initially an assistant to Kevin Nicholson, 'GTF' helped guide the club to a second-placed finish in the Welsh Premier League, later returning as number one.

“I’d love to have the chance, I’ve made no secret of it," Taylor-Fletcher told The Gazette.

"I want to be back involved in the club in a full-time capacity to help them get back to the Championship and the Premier League.

“If the managerial job is available then I’m not going to shy away from putting my name forward for it.

“But I won’t be the only one and I won’t be the only one that has a good case to get the job."

Taylor-Fletcher, who recently came close to taking the Macclesfield Town job, also admits he'd be prepared to work alongside some of his former Blackpool teammates in a coaching role.

“There are a lot of managers out there and there are a lot of ex-players who are interested in the job who would relish the opportunity to go and play attacking football and give the fans what they want," he added.

“This could be a great time to get back some of the players from my time back involved in the club, which is what I probably would have thought would happen back when the owner first took over.

“But with Simon Grayson coming in he obviously didn’t want any threats or an easy option of someone who could take over. That’s football, that’s what happens.

“I’ve had two-and-a-half years successful managerial career, there’s Keith Southern and Stephen Crainey who are both doing well with their academies. Ian Evatt is doing a fantastic job at Barrow.

“There’s plenty of ex-players and managers who are ready to take that step up to management or have already made it, like myself and Evo.

“I’d definitely be prepared to work alongside some of those other former players. We’ve all got great experience and a love of the club.

“You look at all the players, we’re all different. I was an intelligent forward, Evo was an intelligent defender, Keith was an intelligent midfielder. Crains is another defender, so you’ve got a good mix and a good blend of people you could call upon to make a very strong managerial team.”