Ian Holloway picks out the one Blackpool player who improved the most during his time in charge

But for Holloway, one player stands alone as the man that improved the most during his tenure at Bloomfield Road – Matt Gilks.

The goalkeeper was hell-bent on leaving at the time Holloway arrived at the club in 2009, but his new boss somehow managed to twist his arm and stay

Gilks went on to stay with the Seasiders until 2014, helping the club win promotion to the Premier League during that time.

When asked what player improved the most under his management, Holloway told YouTube channel Golf Life: “There were lots that did really well, but I’d have to say the one that stands out is the goalkeeper I had at Blackpool, Matt Gilks.

“It was the weirdest day I ever had. I take over the job and go into the main ground where the three goalies are behind the goal sat chatting away to the goalie coach.

“I go down to introduce myself and Matt Gilks says to me ‘oh, I want to leave’. I said ‘sorry?’. ‘Well he’s number one, I don’t like him, I don’t think he does it and I want to leave because you’re coming in and you’ll think the same’.

“I told him no-one is number one, no-one is number two, but I’m going to try and build a team spirit so this isn’t a good start, is it?

“He had this downer on himself. I managed to help him see what he was doing, see how he wasn’t helping himself and get over it.

“I still think we got relegated because he got injured. He only played the first 23 games and we had 28 points after 23 games during that season in the Premier League.

“But then he goes and gets injured. It was a terrible injury, his knee cap needed rebuilding.

“But for me, he had it all in him, but he was self-destructing with the things he was saying to himself in his own mind. I managed to make him see he was doing that.

“He then had to deal with it, change what he was doing, change his thinking, change his mindset and his outlook and wow, what a fantastic career he had after that.

“I’d like to give him the credit for that because he deserves it. It’s not easy looking at yourself and what you’re doing and how you could do it better.

“Michael Jackson was right, wasn’t he? If you want to change something you start with the man in the mirror.”