Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley hopeful of emulating his first spell in charge at Bloomfield Road

After succeeding Simon Grayson with just two games of the Covid-hit 2019/20 campaign remaining – as the Seasiders took a solitary point from fixtures against Fleetwood Town and Tranmere Rovers – the 44-year-old head coach got to work.

The beginning of the ex-Crewe Alexandra midfielder's reign was far from plain-sailing as the Tangerines prevailed in just one of 10 behind-closed-doors games in all competitions.

However, the club slowly but surely turned a corner in the third tier, embarking on a 16-match unbeaten run from mid-February, before seeing off Oxford United and Lincoln City to go up via the play-offs.

Critchley told The Gazette: "We'd like to be there [in the Championship], of course we would. We want to get there as soon as possible and if we can do that next season, great.

"We spoke about longevity and building something and sometimes that can take a bit of time. We did it very quickly last time and we had success straight away and hopefully we have that again.

"I'll be working damn hard to try and make sure that happens. Ultimately, that's the aim, we want to get back to the Championship, and hopefully it'll be next season."

The former Liverpool Under 23s coach, who previously covered Jürgen Klopp when taking charge of an EFL Cup quarter-final tie with Aston Villa, knows his players have the capability to do it all again.

Critchley worked with the majority of the squad in his last stint as boss and, though a third of League One is now made up of fallen Premier League sides, he knows his group can compete.

Having held their own in the Championship, with a 16th place finish in 2021/22, Critchley concluded: "I've worked with the majority of the squad so I know what they're capable of.

"I inherited a lot of them and decided to keep them here, and others I brought here myself, so it shows you what I think of them.

"We identified a lot of those players with the hope of getting to the Championship and knowing that they'd be capable of playing at that level.

"They've proven that, but football moves on very quickly and times change so you have to keep improving and driving."

But the past is in the past and the promotion-winning head coach needs to see that his players have still got the hunger to recover and push on after relegation.

He added: "If you stand still you can go backwards so I want to see if the players have still got that fire in their belly.

"They've got to want to play in front of these supporters in League One next season and give it their all to get us to where we want to go.

"There are some big football clubs in that division with big resources and big fanbases. I'm sure they'll have aspirations of getting promoted, which is the ultimate ambition for everyone. It's hugely competitive!"