'Hand-picked by the FA': What we know about Blackpool's highly-qualified new manager Neil Critchley

Here, we take a look at the man tasked with turning around Blackpool's League One fortunes...

HOW IS CRITCHLEY VIEWED IN THE COACHING WORLD?

Critchley, who has been working closely with Liverpool starlets Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Neco Williams this season, is regarded as one of the finest coaches in Europe after being hand-picked by the FA to take UEFA’s first elite badge course.

It makes him just one out of 16 coaches to receive the highest qualification possible.

WAS HE THE MAN WHO TOOK CHARGE INSTEAD OF JURGEN KLOPP?

Yes. Critchley has taken charge of the first-team twice this campaign in Klopp's absence. The first, a loss to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup. The second, a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury in the FA Cup.

WHAT HAVE LIVERPOOL SAID?

Liverpool's academy director Alex Inglethorpe said the 41-year-old's departure has left him "disappointed" but full of "excitement and joy".

“It’s a bittersweet day in many respects,” he told the club website.

“Blackpool want Neil because of the work he’s done at Liverpool and it shows to everyone within our system that if you work hard and work smart then rewards are there.

“Neil epitomises the best qualities of a modern coach: leadership skills, intelligence, compassion and a hunger for individual and collective improvement.

"Blackpool are very fortunate to have him and we wish him well."

WHERE WAS HE BEFORE LIVERPOOL?

Critchley is a former professional footballer who came through the youth ranks at Crewe Alexandra but only made one appearance for his boyhood club before moving to non-league Leigh RMI in 2000.

He then dropped out of the game a year later, hanging up his boots after just three games for the side who turn it in the South Lancashire Counties league.

Critchley went into coaching and returned to Crewe in 2007, where he took on the role of academy director.

WHAT DID CRITCHLEY SAY AFTER HIS APPOINTMENT?

“I am absolutely delighted to join Blackpool. The trust and faith that has been shown in me from Simon [Sadler] and Ben [Mansford] gives me a very special feeling inside. I can’t wait to get started, I’m really looking forward to the weeks and months ahead, meeting the players, working on the grass, developing the team and meeting some of the supporters.

“The time I’ve had at Liverpool has been truly special. I’ve been incredibly well supported there from Alex Inglethorpe, the academy manager, and all the staff. It’s a truly special football club and it’s the people that make the football club the place that it is. It would have had to have taken something equally as special, if not more, for me to even think about leaving.

“But from the conversations I’ve had here, I got a really good feeling about the people, where they want the club to go and how they want it to grow.”