New training ground would benefit the whole of Blackpool, not just the football club says new boss Neil Critchley

It comes after the club's chief executive Ben Mansford recently told The Gazette that the first designs for the state-of-the-art facility will be released in the not-too-distant future.

The Seasiders are keen to move away from their current Squires Gate base to an all-encompassing training ground that will house both the first team and the academy.

When asked about the plans by The Gazette, Critchley said: “It would be massive, you can’t deny that.

“It would be fantastic for the Blackpool area, the people, to have something that they can be really proud of - a base not just for the players but where the community can also go and watch Blackpool train and be part of something really special.

“I think that would be a huge, huge bonus for the football club and the area.”

At a recent meeting with various fan groups, Mansford confirmed that a preferred architect had been chosen and the club were hopeful of having planning permission in place "within weeks".

He was not, however, able to comment at the moment on location.

When asked what the timeframe is for the new facility, Mansford - speaking at the end of February - said: “I think it’s as soon as possible, but making sure we go through the right processes.

“Simon Sadler is brilliant for me because he’s always saying ‘processes, processes, processes’.

“I think it’s right we get that and take our time. We want to make as much progress as we can but we’ve also got to jump through all the hurdles that are set.

“I’m not a planning expert, I’m not an environmental expert and I’m definitely not an architect, but we’ve made real progress over the last three plus months.

“I don’t think we’re far away from being able to show the supporters a first design.

“After that a lot will go on with the planning process in terms of how quickly people will be able to let us put a spade on the ground.”

For the time being, the Seasiders continue to train at Squires Gate.

This involves them getting changed at Bloomfield Road before travelling over to Martin Avenue, before returning to the stadium to get showered.

Short-term plans had been drawn up and submitted to the council for temporary changing rooms at Squires Gate in September, but they’re still yet to come to fruition.

“We’re just trying to get the right setup for the right value of money,” Mansford added.

“There are options to rent things to go on there, there are options to purchase from providers all across Europe, there’s how long it may or may not take to get into the new site and what planning and logistical problems we might have.

“We’re just trying to evaluate when we will do it, but there’s a firm commitment from Simon to put some sort of portable building on there and it’s just working out which is the best route to go down.

“Almost certainly I see that moving forward well before the end of this season.”