Returning Bloomfield Road boss Neil Critchley prepared to invest every morsel of his entire being into Blackpool Football Club

The Seasiders, who won promotion to the Championship with the ex-Liverpool Under 23s coach at the helm in 2021, are back in League One after suffering relegation last term.

The Tangerines took six points off champions Hull City that term, and another four off runners up Peterborough United, before getting the better of Oxford United and Lincoln City in the play-offs.

Critchley, 44, would love nothing more than a repeat of his first full campaign in charge at Bloomfield Road when the club plies its trade in the third tier for a fifth time in seven seasons.

He said: "I always had my eye on this football club, it will always have a special place in my heart, I had a great time here and I want to try and recreate that.

"My commitment is to this football club. We had a clear strategy last time, and complete alignment throughout the club in terms of our thinking, which made our decision-making easier and it gave us a clear identity."

The former Crewe Alexandra midfielder added: "We've got to get back to that and I'm in, I've made my commitment to this football club. I want longevity and I think that gives you the best chance of being successful.

"You can never predict the future, but I gave my all when I was here last time. I gave everything and the players and staff will vouch for that.

"I invest everything into this football club, emotionally, physically, my time, effort, and I'll be doing that and more again this time."

Critchley soon found out that the grass wasn't greener when departing 12 months ago to become Steven Gerrard's second in command at Aston Villa.

He survived little more than four months in his role after ex-England ace Gerrard, who he knew well from his time at Anfield, was dismissed following a poor run of results.

However, while he regrets the way things ended at Blackpool, he stands by his decision to take on a new challenge, with the lure of the Premier League proving too much to resist.

"My reason for leaving was quite clear; I'd been coaching for over 20 years and to go and work for Steven Gerrard in the Premier League for a club like Aston Villa was an ambition of mine," he explained.

"As an English coach you don't get too many opportunities to go and work in the Premier League and that was something I wanted to do.

"It's a Premier League club with Premier League players, international players, and you want to test yourself at the top. You never know when those opportunities will come again, they might pass you by."

Critchley concluded: "The manner in which it came about was not completely in my control and it's something I wish had been handled differently. That's something I apologise for. I can't change that, all I can do now is change the future and look forward to what we've got to come.

"It's now up to me to put a team out on the pitch that they can identify with; a great work ethic, commitment, togetherness, and it was clear home and away who we were as a team. If we do that the supporters will appreciate it. When this place is rocking, as an opponent, you don't want to be here!"