‘I’m part of the Tangerine Army:’ Kenny Dougall sends message to Blackpool fans following Bloomfield Road exit

The 30-year-old joined Thai team Buriram United for an undisclosed fee last month following a period of speculation. After signing for the Seasiders in 2020, he scored 11 times in 145 appearances for the club- including a brace in the League One play-off final victory over Lincoln City at the end of his first season in Tangerine.

Dougall admits he has many happy memories from his time on the Fylde Coast, and states his heroics at Wembley will be something he’ll always reflect on.

“My time there was very enjoyable- I’ll take those memories for life,” he said.

“The first couple of seasons under Neil Critchley I felt I played really well and that the team was fantastic. The play-off final was one of those things, every footballer says they’ll look back when they retire, but I’m not at that point yet.

“There are times when I do think about it- it was a great day in my life. At the start of the day you wouldn’t have said we’d win 2-1 and I’d score both. The one disappointment of it was it was a limited capacity crowd because of Covid.

“It’s hard to sum it up in a few words, but I want to thank the fans for everything. They’ve embraced me as one of their own for my entire Blackpool career- which is all anyone can ask for. I hopefully gave them some good memories, and one very special one that will be in history- it’s something we can both have forever.

“I’m part of the Tangerine Army so I want to thank them for everything they’ve done. I think I’ve given my all and there’s nothing more I can say.”

Dougall’s contract at Bloomfield Road was due to expire in the summer, with the midfielder admitting he hadn’t considered entering talks to extend his stay.

“(Neil) Critchley asked me about it a couple of times because I get on with him quite well and we have a good relationship, but to be honest I didn’t want to stay with Blackpool any longer,” he added.

“There’s some one club players but normally there’s a lifespan, and it’s not about moving on to bigger things; sometimes you just want new challenges and new environments to improve yourself.

“It was my fourth year with Blackpool and it got to a time where I wanted a new experience to better myself as a person more than anything.”

Dougall first arrived in Europe back in 2014 after making the move from Brisbane City to Telstar. He later played for Sparta Rotterdam and Barnsley before making the move to Bloomfield Road.

The midfielder believes making a move to Asia was the right next step for him in his career.

“It all aligned with where I was in my career and my life,” he explained.

“It’s football, sometimes these things come out of the blue. There was nothing really concrete anywhere else- this was on paper, and financially it was rewarding. It was tough to end my European career, but at the same time I enjoyed it- I felt like I did a lot and now I’m ready to start this new chapter in Asia.

“It’s always been in the back of my mind to play in Thailand because I’ve got a Thai mother- who is excited that I’m here and it’s made her really happy. In the summer there were sniffs of this but I wasn’t quite ready to move- I wanted to end on a good note with Blackpool so I played the first half of the season to the best of my ability.”