Wigan Athletic defender Will Aimson reflects on his time with Blackpool.
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00:00First of all, it was a big decision to leave Hull at the time.
00:05I was doing my best to break through into the first team at Hull.
00:10I was another lad in a similar position.
00:12We both got the opportunities to go out on loan to League One clubs.
00:18The club wasn't in the best of places,
00:22obviously off the back of a relegation from the Championship.
00:25I went just with an open mind,
00:27just to do the best for the club for a month's loan.
00:31I was actually put into centre mid to begin with,
00:34which was new for me, but I enjoyed it.
00:36Then I was at that stage of my career
00:39where I'd come off the back of a long injury as well.
00:41I broke my leg a year and a half before that.
00:45I was just trying to get regular first team football
00:47and men's football senior football.
00:50That happened and then I didn't play as much.
00:52Obviously, I signed permanently in January,
00:55which was a tough decision, really.
00:58At the time, I was playing every week in League One.
01:02For me, I wanted to try and build my way back up
01:04to the Championship and Premiership that way.
01:10Obviously, I didn't get the opportunity to play
01:12as much as I would have liked towards the end of the season.
01:14We ended up going down, which was a shame.
01:15Obviously, the club was in a bad spot at the time.
01:19Things changed very quickly in football.
01:20That was a disappointment for me, being a Premier League team.
01:26All of a sudden, you find yourself in League Two.
01:29Football can do that to you.
01:32How much did it shape you as a character?
01:34I think that's very much been chucked in at the deep end,
01:36especially when you play in different positions.
01:38I think when you're younger, you're fearless.
01:40I was anyway.
01:41For my position, obviously, I'm a centre-half,
01:47but I've always been quite mobile
01:49and I've always been quite comfortable on the ball.
01:52I think I'd spoke to a few of the senior players at the time
01:55and I didn't try anything.
01:57I knew my limits in there.
01:59I wasn't going to be the next Rodri.
02:01I knew that.
02:02But I just did my job.
02:06I think what was effective was that I had a defensive head on me.
02:11My first train of thought is defend.
02:14So I was probably a nuisance for any number 10s
02:17or any attacking midfielders that were trying to make stuff happen
02:19because my first thought was defend.
02:21Obviously, I did what I could on the ball,
02:23just kept stuff simple.
02:24But as a character, it made me grow.
02:29Obviously, that's my first and only relegation, touch wood.
02:32But they're obviously not nice.
02:36It's difficult.
02:37Obviously, things change at football clubs.
02:39Everyone's wages change.
02:42You're playing in a lesser league.
02:44So there's a lot that comes with it.
02:46So that was very disappointing for me.
02:48Personally, I think all the lads I played would agree.
02:51Probably let a lot of people down, really.
02:53But obviously, something good happened the following year.
02:56So, yeah, I mean, you only grow and learn from those moments, definitely.
03:03What did Gary Boyer do to steady that ship and sort of, as a team,
03:08it was like a kind of you against the world kind of thing
03:10in terms of you didn't have fans in the stadium,
03:12but you still managed to enjoy success in the playoffs?
03:16Yeah, I mean, he came in with fresh ideas, a lot of energy.
03:21He was one of us, really.
03:22You know, he was, how do I describe it?
03:26He wanted to have fun.
03:27He just wanted everybody to enjoy it as much as possible, training.
03:29But don't get me wrong, when it was time to knuckle down
03:32and get serious, he would at the same time.
03:35I can't find, you won't find too many players at that club
03:39at the time that had a bad relationship, really, with him.
03:42He was brilliant with every single person.
03:45I think that's probably a manager's hardest job is keeping everybody on board
03:48when, you know, there is going to be players that aren't playing.
03:52That's just the way football is.
03:53There's going to be players that aren't starting as much as they want
03:55or aren't getting enough minutes or as many minutes as they want to get.
03:59So, I think he did very well to keep everybody on board,
04:03especially with the outside stuff that was going on.
04:07I think he just reiterated, you know, we couldn't affect that.
04:11You know, that's out of our hands.
04:13You know, whatever we did, however we felt it, you know,
04:16there was nothing we could do.
04:18We could only, you know, control what happened on the pitch.
04:20I think a phrase he used to use was control the controllables.
04:25And that's, you know, what we did.
04:26We had a pretty average start.
04:28And then I think second half of the season, we gelled, everything clicked.
04:32And we really, we didn't look back, really.
04:33We kicked on and took the momentum straight into the playoffs.
04:38I know what he told stories about going down to the arcades
04:40or going down to the pier.
04:43So, did he shield you from, like, the problems
04:46as make work as fun as it could be?
04:48Was that key?
04:50Yeah, like I said, it was just about controlling, again,
04:53what we could control.
04:54It was, listen, we're not daft.
04:57Like, we knew what was going on
04:58and the troubles that were happening
05:01and everything with the fans.
05:03And, of course, it's not nice.
05:04But, again, we, you know, we have our careers on the line
05:07and we're all trying to do the best for ourselves
05:10and the best for the team
05:11and ultimately to help the club get back to, you know,
05:15it was too big of a club to be playing in that league.
05:17Even League One at some stage.
05:21So, yeah, it was, that's what I said.
05:25We were just concentrated about what we were doing on the pitch
05:27and in training every day.
05:29And, like I said, after Christmas, it seemed to really click.
05:32How strange was it to play at Wembley?
05:35We obviously saw a few fans there.
05:37I think in 2012, it was like 35,000 Blackpool fans
05:41and then it was down to 5,000.
05:43So, how strange, sort of, yeah, a big occasion,
05:46but obviously not.
05:47Yeah, it was, I mean, that was, I think,
05:53I'd maybe only been to Wembley,
05:55maybe one or two times before that,
05:56only to watch, never to play.
05:59And then, don't get me wrong,
06:01it was still a bit strange walking out,
06:04still a good atmosphere.
06:06You know, everything around it,
06:08all the fire and the fire,
06:09it's a confetti, of course.
06:11You know, it's special to even, you know,
06:13put a foot on the grass at that place.
06:16So, listen, once the game started
06:18and the whistle went,
06:19oh, you're in the warm-up,
06:20you go into your zone and your mode
06:22and you don't really,
06:24you don't, that's how I kind of,
06:26you know, deal with games anyway.
06:27As soon as that whistle goes,
06:28you know, you're in your zone
06:29and you don't really take notice of anything around you.
06:31You're concentrating on your job on the pitch.
06:33So, yeah, we, listen,
06:36we still, we appreciate the fans that came.
06:38We understand why fans didn't come as well.
06:42Again, that was out of our hands.
06:44But, you know, I had all my family
06:46and friends from back home down south
06:48come to the game
06:50and I think all the other boys did.
06:52So, it was still a very special day,
06:54one that I'll remember, you know,
06:55for a long time.
06:57Obviously, your entire time in the club
06:59was right at the heart of sort of the problems.
07:02Do you go back as a visiting player now
07:04or have you been back and seen sort of
07:05the atmosphere with the fans there and think?
07:08What could have been, you know,
07:09just how special it can be?
07:12It was quite quickly, wasn't it,
07:14after I'd left that, you know,
07:16they got everything turned around.
07:17I was, of course, I was, you know,
07:18buzzing for the club and the fans really.
07:22And I went to go and watch a game.
07:23And it was just great to see, really.
07:26There was no bitter feelings whatsoever.
07:29It was just great to see the stadium packed
07:31and, you know, what the club and the fans
07:34have got an offer to show.
07:36So, yeah, like I said,
07:37there was no bitter feelings.
07:39I enjoyed my time there.
07:41I'd made some great friends, memories, of course.
07:44So, it was just great to see, you know,
07:46the club back thriving again, really.
07:50And since leaving,
07:51you've not been afraid to move about.
07:54You've been up and down the country,
07:55probably to both ends quite literally.
07:57So, oh, yeah.
07:58Obviously, your career is,
08:00how pleased you are sort of the way
08:01you've sort of learnt from your experiences
08:02and, you know,
08:04become this experienced player that you are now?
08:06Yeah, obviously, I left Blackpool.
08:08It was my kind of choice to leave.
08:12I think we had the League One season
08:14after promotion
08:14and I still played a good amount of games.
08:16But, you know,
08:18I'd always come out of the team every now and then.
08:19And I think it was time for me to go and,
08:21you know, be,
08:24well, try to be number one,
08:26centre-half,
08:27first name on the team sheet,
08:28if you'd like,
08:29or try and,
08:30obviously, don't get given that.
08:31You've got to earn that.
08:32But I wanted to kind of go
08:33and get that kind of,
08:34position somewhere else
08:36and, obviously,
08:37went to Rhine-Lowe and Bury.
08:40And, obviously,
08:41we ended up in an
08:42even worse situation, really,
08:44that year.
08:45And then,
08:46it's a shame, really,
08:47because we had a
08:48very, very strong team
08:49in that League too.
08:50And I think we
08:50see a lot of teams
08:52bounce and bounce up again recently.
08:53So, I think we'd, you know,
08:54we'd have had a good chance of doing that.
08:56But, obviously, the club went into,
08:57you know, liquidation
08:59and ended up going.
09:00So, obviously,
09:01ended up going to Plymouth.
09:03Manager took me there
09:04and, you know,
09:05I had a good few years there.
09:07And, yeah,
09:07I've done a few laps
09:08of the country.
09:09But, no,
09:10listen,
09:10it's a short career.
09:12But I've enjoyed my time,
09:14played for some really,
09:14really, you know,
09:15big clubs
09:16and made some great memories.
09:18Just on Ryan Lowe,
09:20it's a good job that,
09:20obviously,
09:21you've played under him twice
09:21before,
09:22and then he ends up at Wigan.
09:23So,
09:24did that work out quite well
09:25for yourself to someone
09:26who you knew already
09:27walking through the door?
09:29Yeah, definitely.
09:30Listen,
09:30I had,
09:31I think it was three years
09:33with him
09:33and had two promotions.
09:36So,
09:36you know,
09:36we've had a lot of joy together
09:39when he's been coached
09:40and I've been a player.
09:41So, you know,
09:42I enjoy playing under him,
09:43get on well with him.
09:44I like the way he plays
09:45and,
09:46you know,
09:46it's been really good
09:48having him in,
09:49of course.
09:49As soon as I've seen
09:50he was appointed
09:51or maybe being appointed,
09:52it was brilliant
09:53to have him in.
09:55You know,
09:55we've only had a short time
09:56with him so far.
09:57I had the backhand
09:58of last season
09:59but I'm really looking forward
10:00to pre-season
10:00and,
10:01you know,
10:02getting the group together
10:03and now as one of the senior players,
10:05you know,
10:05trying to get the group bonded
10:07and helping as much as I can
10:08with the team
10:09and hopefully we'll have
10:09a successful season.
10:11Yeah,
10:11I'm guessing
10:12under Iron Law
10:13you're looking towards
10:14the top end of the table.
10:15Obviously,
10:15Blackpool's got Steve Bruce,
10:16they'll have similar ambitions.
10:18So,
10:18how competitive is League 1 next year?
10:20Because you could go through
10:21every team and say,
10:21oh,
10:21they've got him,
10:22they've got him.
10:23There's quite a lot of teams
10:23who can fancy themselves.
10:26Yeah,
10:26I think it's almost turning,
10:28especially,
10:28you know,
10:29the top 8 maybe
10:30or sometimes top 10.
10:31It's almost like
10:32a mini-championship really.
10:34You see a lot of big clubs,
10:36you know,
10:36your Derby's,
10:37Sheffield Wednesdays,
10:38Portsmouth's.
10:39You know,
10:39it could go on,
10:40there's loads
10:40and there are Boltons,
10:41Wiggins
10:41and they kind of get
10:42into League 1
10:43and get stuck
10:44for a little bit.
10:45and there's some,
10:47you know,
10:47there's been some massive clubs
10:48in League 1
10:50for a long time
10:50and there's only,
10:52I'd like to,
10:53well,
10:53there is,
10:53there's only getting more.
10:54So,
10:55yeah,
10:56it's a much more competitive league
10:58than maybe when I first played
10:59in it 10 years ago.
11:02But it's,
11:02it's very enjoyable.
11:04You get some,
11:05you get some good games,
11:06you get some big crowds.
11:09Like you say,
11:09it's a really competitive league.
11:11So,
11:11no,
11:11I definitely enjoy playing in it.
11:13You know,
11:14I'd love to,
11:15to battle for promotion
11:16and have the opportunity
11:17to go and play in the championship.
11:18That's definitely the aim
11:19this year.
11:21So,
11:22hopefully we can,
11:22you know,
11:23have an exciting season.