Steve Bruce admits Blackpool have some big decisions to make ahead of the summer.

Since being appointed as Seasiders head coach back in September, the 64-year-old has overseen plenty of change at Bloomfield Road, with more set to come following the conclusion of the current campaign.

The Fylde Coast outfit have nine players in total who could leave the club for free at the end of the season, with their contracts coming to an end.

Former Everton youngster Matthew Pennington falls into this category, but does have a one-year option to extend his time in Tangerine.

Since joining Blackpool from Shrewsbury Town in the summer of 2023, the 30-year-old has featured 64 times for the club.

Despite having to be patient to earn a regular spot under Bruce, Pennington has been able to cement his spot in recent times, and has recently restarted his partnership with Olly Casey in defence following a spell on the sidelines.

“He brings big experience,” said the Blackpool boss.

“He had to be patient to come into the team, but there’s no doubt at all that the results are better when Penno is in the team.

“We’ve got big discussions with a lot of people, but for the next three or four weeks we will just be concentrating on what we’re going to do on the pitch, then we’ll have those conversations and we’ll get stuck in.

“You can't get enough of people like Penno, he’s a great pro. As someone who sits in the chair and tries to manage these lads, if you had 20 of them then you’d have no problem. He lives his life right, and is a really decent human being.

“We’ve got big discussions to make. All of a sudden, you’re looking at the window. It’s all still to play for, we hope we can tie a few up, but we’ll have to see what happens in the next few weeks.

“There’s a lot of movement at this level, which is understandable because you don’t give out big, long contracts to people. You see a lot of turnover, more than I really ever thought there was.

“We did a lot of business in January, and it’s going to be a busy summer.”

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