Ollie Turton explains why he knew early on why Blackpool boss Neil Critchley would be a success in management

Critchley used to be Turton’s youth coach as he made his way into the game at Crewe Alexandra.

Now reunited at Bloomfield Road, Turton admits he wasn’t surprised Critchley ended up in a senior role in management following his successful stint working with Liverpool’s academy.

“I’ve known the manager for a long time, he used to be my youth team manager at Crewe,” the 27-year-old said.

“It’s great that I’m playing, but he will want to keep me on my toes and I’ve got to prove to him I’m the right player to be playing. That’s got to come from my performances.

“It was that long ago (I worked with him), it’s going on 10 years now, so it’s hard to remember too much.

“But at Crewe there’s obviously a way of playing and now he’s trying to implement a Blackpool way of playing too.

“It’s not Liverpool’s style, but he’s obviously taken a lot from his time there so it’s changing a lot.

“The way he deals with the players in terms of man management, that’s how he was even when I was an 18-year-old.

“Even from then, you knew he was destined to be big in the game and do well for himself. As a coach, he’s up there with the best in the country.

“It was funny to end up meeting him again at Blackpool. I was really excited to work with him again though.”