‘It kind of annoys me:’ Ex-Blackpool defender explains frustration behind circumstances of Bloomfield Road move- podcast

The 33-year-old initially signed on loan from Accrington Stanley in January 2015, before the deal was quickly made permanent. At the time of the centre back’s arrival, the Seasiders were in the Championship, but soon suffered back-to-back relegations. He departed the club in 2017 after 103 appearances, with his last outing being a victory over Exeter in the League Two play-off final.

Aldred, who has most recently spent time in the A-League with Brisbane Roar, states it was a difficult time at the club, with the fans making their feelings clear to the Oyston ownership.

Reflecting on his initial move to Bloomfield Road, he said: "It kind of annoys me that I went on loan if I’m honest, the only reason it happened is because they were playing and the manager wanted me on the bench, so the only way to do that was to sign me on loan to then sign permanently.

"I’d visited Blackpool as a young lad from Manchester, I knew the club had been in the Premier League, I knew the stadium, I’d played games there in the reserve league for Carlisle- as soon as I heard about the interest I was buzzing and I couldn’t wait to get there.

"Albeit they were probably in the worst situation they’ve ever been in. I remember signing and it was almost like I was a victim of the situation they were in. They were in the Championship signing someone from Accrington, so it probably didn’t look good on paper. Obviously some fans were optimistic because I was a young player, but I felt I couldn’t have signed when the club was in a worse position.

"It was tough to be fair. I remember the amount of players they signed, there was about 50 or 60, which is chaotic for any club, there was no consistency. Out of all those that joined that year, it was only really myself that lasted the next two years.

"I played five or six games in the Championship and then I got injured. I had never got an injury and been happy, but in that period I was. I was at the game when the fans got on the pitch, which was crazy, but rightly so because they had their opinions and there’s only one way to be heard. If you’re going to tell an owner what you think of them then that’s the way to do it.

"I came back from injury in League One. Looking back, I honestly feel that’s one of the best years I’ve played as an individual, we got relegated so it was tough as a collective. We kept 15 clean sheets and were quite solid, but didn’t score enough goals.

"I was probably one of the players that copped it sometimes as the leader. Fans were frustrated with the club and the players would wear that, but a lot of them gave it everything.

"I always felt it was a club where if things got right then we could’ve achieved something."

The full interview and be listened to as a podcast on Dailymotion, Spotify and Apple.