Blackpool manager Ian Holloway is on the verge of signing a new two-year contract and believes the Seasiders (3/1 to beat Wigan on Saturday) will be able to survive this season despite the difficult build-up to the campaign.
The north-west club make their triumphant return to the top flight of English football on Saturday when they travel to the DW Stadium for their season opener, 39 years after their last game in the top tier.
However, it has been a difficult build-up for Blackpool ever since they secured promotion with a 3-2 victory over Cardiff in the Championship play-off in May.
Holloway’s side have been reduced to the bare bones over the summer as they failed to sign many of the loan stars than made them a success last season.
The Seasiders had been desperate to recruit DJ Campbell from Leicester after his loan spell last season but had a number of bids rejected by the Foxes as they held out for more money.
The problems with signing Campbell have been repeated with a number of players and while Holloway has finally been able to bring in five new recruits it looks as though Blackpool could struggle to fill their 25-man squad allocation for the Premier League season.
Blackpool’s failure to sign as many players as Holloway would have liked is believed to have left the former QPR, Plymouth and Leicester manager frustrated and on the verge of quitting the club.
However, Holloway moved to lay those rumours to rest on Wednesday, stating that stories claiming he had quit the Seasiders (2/7 to be relegated) had been greatly over exaggerated.
The 47-year-old has now given Blackpool fans a boost by announcing that he plans to extend his stay at Bloomfield Road after agreeing a new two-year contract.
Holloway is confident he will remain at the club no matter what happens this season but believes his side has what it takes to stay in the Premier League this season.
The Pool boss said: “No-one is bulletproof but I’m confident the chairman won’t sack me next year.
“And I’m confident that if we have gone down, I will be here the following season to actually build a team.
“But I’m confident we can stay in this division.
“If my lads relish the way we are going to play and how we do things, and if the new lads can settle quickly, we can do it.”
Blackpool (16/1 to win the league in the handicap betting) fans might feel a little bit more confident about the upcoming season after Holloway’s announcement, with the recruitment of five players going some way to stabilising the club.
The Seasiders announced the signings of Ludovic Sylvestre, Craig Cathcart, Marlon Harewood, Elliot Grandin and Malaury Martin on Wednesday, with more expected before the transfer window shuts at the end of August.
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