Neil Critchley on his Blackpool departure, Aston Villa sacking and next move amid Bournemouth and Wigan Athletic links

The former Blackpool boss left Villa Park in October after Steven Gerrard was given the axe after just 11 months in charge.

As for Critchley, his departure came just five months after his surprise decision to leave Bloomfield Road to become Gerrard’s assistant.

Addressing that controversial move on a podcast with sports journalism students at the University of Central Lancashire, Critchley said: “It was an extremely difficult decision to make.

“I had a special time at Blackpool with really special people. It’s a fantastic club right from the owner Simon (Sadler) right to Brett Gerrity and the chief executive Ben Mansford.

“The support I got from the fans and the players was incredible.

“However, the lure of the Premier League, having worked in coaching from 18 I’d never had a chance to work in the Premier League and those opportunities don’t come around very often.

“I unfortunately can’t pick the timing of when that opportunity came. My relationship with Steven Gerrard, which I built at Liverpool for about 18 months - he was an outstanding footballer but he’s an even better person - so when he comes knocking on your door asking to work with him, I found it very difficult to say no to him.

“Yes, the timing…it was in the summer and I was actually away on holiday. It would have been much better if I could have done it face-to-face. But the timing was out of my hands unfortunately.”

Critchley’s move to the top flight didn’t work out though, with the 44-year-old lasting just 12 games.

He was shown the door alongside Gerrard after Villa had suffered a 3-0 defeat against Fulham, which was their sixth defeat in the space of just 11 games.

When asked if it was a fair dismissal, Critchley replied: “Obviously not because I got sacked!

“I understand the reasons though. Whether I agree with them or not is out of my control.

“You do the best you can do while you’re at the club. I was only there for a short period of time, it didn’t go the way we wanted it to go and there are various reasons for that.

“But when you lose a job it’s not a nice feeling. It’s the first time I’ve been in this situation but I’ve been in football a very long time, so I know the industry and what it’s like, so unfortunately it’s part and parcel of the game.”

Critchley has recently been linked with a couple of vacancies in the Championship in Luton Town and Wigan Athletic.

Luton, however, opted to go with former Seasiser Rob Edwards while reports suggest Kolo Toure is being primed to take over at the DW Stadium.

The former Liverpool academy coach is also being touted for a number two role under Gary O’Neil at Bournemouth should the current interim boss get the job on a full-time basis.

Addressing his future, Critchley said: “At the moment I’ve got a bit of free time on my hands so I’m trying to do everything I can to upskill myself and prepare myself for the next opportunity.

“I’m preparing, watching many games, reflecting on the experiences I’ve had in the last few years and being open-minded about what might present itself in the future.

“Who knows? Hopefully I will be fortunate enough for someone to offer me a good position at some point.”

To watch the Que Sera Qatar podcast in full, click here. You can also listen via Spotify.