Ian Holloway the ringmaster at media circus: 10 years on from Blackpool's promotion to the Premier League

On this day a decade ago, we reported on Blackpool’s pre-Wembley press conference, conducted by Ian Holloway in his own unique style ahead of the Championship play-off final against Cardiff City...

Ian Holloway surveyed the media circus which descended on Bloomfield Road ahead of the club’s day of destiny at Wembley and quipped: “There’s more here than we got for one of our pre-season games.”

If the Seasiders had any doubts about the magnitude of Saturday’s £90m shootout with Cardiff, they don’t any longer.

The BBC, Sky and ITV, as well as every national newspaper, turned up at the club to interview Holloway and his squad ahead of Pool’s quest for Premier League football.

Given that there’s normally The Gazette and the local radio station, it emphasised what is at stake.

“It’s nice to see so many journalists – I’ve never seen so many here,” said Holloway, as he shared his thoughts on a match he describes as the biggest of his career.

“We have a huge weekend in front of us and there has already been so much to do.

“It’s like trying to organise a wedding. We have to find out who wants to come, who’s doing this and that.

“Getting things sorted is always a problem. Aunty so-and-so wants to come, so does Uncle whatshisname ... you don’t get that for an away match at Peterborough!

“So there are distractions when you go to Wembley.

“And we’ve had to get it all done in a rush because we didn’t want to pre-empt anything by doing it before the play-off semi-final.

“So it’s been an absolute mad few days. But we’re getting there.

“The suits arrive tomorrow morning, then we travel to London, and that will be a blessing really because we can then start to focus properly on what we need to do without everything else going on.

“Don’t get me wrong, the whole thing is really exciting and it’s nice everyone is making a fuss about us and what we’ve achieved.

“But my job as a manager is to try and keep everything as normal as possible.

“I’m trying to keep the lads’ feet on the ground and be ready for any eventuality there might be on the pitch on Saturday.”

As for distractions, they don’t come bigger than the story linking Holloway with the West Ham United job.

But the manager was blunt in his reaction to the speculation that he’s on a shortlist of four to fill the position.

“It is complete poppycock. I’ve got a great job here and I want to continue doing it,” he said.

“Of course it’s an honour to be linked with something like that but it’s not genuine is it?

“If it was genuine then my chairman would be talking to me about it.

“I think a lot of journalists are quite lazy.

“They look at things and think ‘ oh, we can throw that name in’.”

“The bottom line is that I’m doing a job as well as I possibly can and I’m more than happy to keep doing it.

“It is all pie in the sky and I am more than happy with my football club I’ve got here.

“What people who dream up these stories probably don’t understand is how I feel about this place.

“It is a distraction and I don’t want it, but we are just getting on with our job and that is trying to beat Cardiff and make it to the place we all want to be ... the Premier League.”

Pool won’t be training at Wembley ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

The FA gave special dispensation to Chelsea and Portsmouth before the FA Cup Final last weekend, allowing them to train at the stadium on the eve of the game to get used to a pitch that has been heavily criticised and isn’t in the best of condition.

Pool and Cardiff had been expected to receive the same treatment but the Football League have decided that neither club will be allowed an extra practice session.

The pitch has been relaid 10 times since the stadium opened in 2007.

Holloway said: “ You’d have thought the pitch at a national stadium would be a damned sight better than it has been.

“ If Arsenal can get theirs in such a wonderful condition, then why can’t Wembley?

“But never mind, it won’t stop us going there and enjoying it.

“And we might feel at home, because we are used to it bobbling up around our ears at Bloomfield Road.”