Ian Evatt opens up on what Blackpool means to him following his return for the recent legends game - as well as providing an update on his current job search after departing Bolton Wanderers earlier this year.
00:00So, Evo, how much did you enjoy being back at Bloomfield Road?
00:03Yeah, I mean, it's really special just the minute you walk in this building,
00:07you just get the emotions come back and the feeling comes back
00:10and seeing all the players again.
00:13It's amazing, even though we've not seen each other for so long,
00:16they put us in a room together and it's like we've never been apart.
00:19Great to see the fans. We had some amazing memories here.
00:23Really special. Always will be close to my heart, this football club.
00:27Yeah, do things just click naturally when you saw the lads again?
00:29Yeah, the banter just starts flying straight away.
00:32As I said, we had a really special bond here,
00:36something that I've never seen replicated since,
00:39whether it be playing or being a manager.
00:42Yeah, those times are hard to recreate, but you appreciate them in hindsight.
00:48We appreciate them at the time, but I think everyone knows
00:51how special that group of players was.
00:53You were in a position where you got two promotions, 2007 and 2010,
00:56so to have that with some of the same lads as well must have been great.
01:01Yeah, there was a few of us part of that 2007 squad.
01:05And then obviously we transitioned into the 2010 team.
01:09Yeah, I mean if you look at the Premier League as it is today and the amount of points that we got,
01:16we were very, very unlucky not to stay in the Premier League and very unlucky not to go back up the following season.
01:22As I said, I think everyone knows and appreciates now with hindsight how special the times they were.
01:27It must be infuriating because Man United and Spurs might not even get what you got this year.
01:32It's crazy, you know, and we probably only have ourselves to blame.
01:37We should have got a lot more points than 39, but no one gave us a prayer, you know,
01:42and you can just see how hard it is for the newly promoted teams now getting 12, 13, 14 points to get 39.
01:48With a group of players, misfits that Oli used to call us, that Cathy used to call us is amazing, you know,
01:57and really special times.
01:58Is that what made you so unique and so special that you were sort of a bunch of misfits that were put together
02:03and no one gave you a chance?
02:04Yeah, but do you know what? Again, it's the benefit of hindsight, isn't it?
02:08I mean at the times it felt like that, but I think since, and even today we came off the pitch
02:13and I just said, you know, we're a really good team, it's still a really good team.
02:17And I think we didn't really, I think within our own camp and within Blackpool, we were always given the credit.
02:25We knew that we were a special group of players and not just good people.
02:29And yeah, I think the wider, we became everyone's second favourite team, didn't we?
02:34Which speaks volumes for the way we went about others.
02:37Obviously you've been back here a few times in recent years.
02:40Was it nice to get a warmer welcome maybe?
02:43They've always given me a warm welcome.
02:45As I said, this club is very, very dear to me.
02:49You know, I spent the greatest period of my life probably in this shirt, this town, these colours.
02:57Yeah, really, really emotional.
03:00Great to be back, great to see some friendly faces and hopefully I can come back again soon.
03:04And just on yourself, obviously you've been out of work since January.
03:07What's the job such, what's it looking like at the moment?
03:10It was the first time in 27 years I've had a break from football.
03:13I went straight from playing to being a manager.
03:16I've been a manager for seven years, been at one club for five years.
03:19And yeah, that takes some doing in modern day football.
03:24So I was ready for a rest and ready for a break.
03:26I've really enjoyed the break and rest.
03:28But now I'm starting to get at your feet again and thinking about what's next.
03:33And yeah, obviously I've had some offers that I've turned down that I didn't quite feel was right for me at the moment.
03:40There's things happening all the time.
03:42So yeah, I'll wait and be patient and try and choose the way up.
03:46Do you feel like you'll come back as a more grounding manager given that first time off in so long?
03:50Yeah, I mean, it's hard because when you're in the game and managerial situations and positions are 24 hours a day.
03:59And it's hard to sometimes gain perspective about what you've achieved and what you've done, but also to grow and improve and spend some time on yourself thinking about what went well, what didn't go well.
04:09And I've had that opportunity.
04:11You know, I've had a lot of success in seven years.
04:13I've had promotions, I've won trophies, finished in playoffs.
04:16I think I've got the highest win ratio of any ball I'm managing post-war.
04:19So, you know, I've done a lot so far, but the last few months have been really helpful to me and I'm ready to go again.
