Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has admitted his side have a huge challenge ahead of them as they open their first season in the Premier League with a home match against Lancashire rivals Wigan Athletic (Blackpool 6/4, draw 11/5, Wigan 6/4).

Holloway has warned fans not to expect the club to bring in a hatful of new players as the Seasiders will adopt a conservative approach to try and stay in the top flight next term.

The 47-year old has learned lessons from other Championship clubs who reached the Premier League and went for the ‘boom or bust’ approach to stay in the division.

He said: “People think we’ve got £90million hanging out of our back pocket that all the wages and transfer fees we used to pay before, they think we can suddenly join the big boys, which would be suicidal if we did and we’re not going to do that.

“You’ve only got to look at Hull and the problems they’ve now got. All of a sudden the wheels come off – we can’t afford to do that for our club so we’ve got to be really careful what we do. It’s learning new things and we’ve got to learn very quickly,” he added.

Blackpool will be looking to follow the success of teams like Stoke City who, as well as retaining Premier League status for two straight seasons, have managed to be one of the few clubs in the division to run at a profit.

The fixtures for next season were released on Thursday and after the Pools home match with Latics, they face tough games against Arsenal (6/1 to win the Premier League)  Fulham and fellow promoted side Newcastle United.

Holloway has said the players already at Bloomfield Road will have their chance to play against the Premier League’s best teams as they managed to get the Tangerines up from the Championship thanks to a 3-2 playoff win against Cardiff City.

However, the manager has reiterated that his team will have to raise their game if they expect any chance of avoiding relegation.

He said: “My players will have to get used to getting beat a few times. It’s fantastic, isn’t it? Has it really sunk in with anyone (yet)? Blackpool are in a league fixture against some of these teams.

“We’ve got a complete culture shock. We’ve got a complete change in everything we ever thought about as a football club. The most exciting thing for all of us is that it’s such a challenge.”

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