Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:52 am
Blackpool Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Appleton as Manager on a contract until June 2026.
The 46-year-old returns to Bloomfield Road on the back of a three-year stint in charge at Lincoln City, where he played a key role, both on-and-off the pitch, in building and developing a young and talented squad.
Coming within 90 minutes of guiding Lincoln back to the second tier of English football for the first time in 60 years in 2021, Appleton managed just shy of 150 games with the Imps.
Prior to that, he held prominent coaching roles in the Premier League at Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion and achieved managerial success by leading Oxford United to a Sky Bet League One promotion, as well as consecutive EFL Trophy finals.
Owner Simon Sadler said:
“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Michael back to Blackpool. I am very much looking forward to seeing what he can achieve during his second stint with us. Whilst success cannot be guaranteed, Ben, Brett, John and I are convinced that, after a thorough recruitment process, he’s the right man for us at this point in our journey.
“All of the prospective head coaches were strong candidates and we spent several hours with each to get to know them better. After debating their individual pros and cons, we were unanimous in our decision to choose Michael Appleton.”
Michael Appleton added:
“I am absolutely delighted to be here. To be able to come back to the Club, with where the Club is at during this moment in time, after two really successful seasons, I can’t wait to get started.
“When I spoke to Simon, to Ben, John and Brett, you could clearly feel the energy in the room, and I think they felt that from me as well. This Club now feels like the right Club at the right time.
“The fans will certainly have seen glimpses of what I tried to do in my days at Lincoln. I want to play aggressive, forward-thinking football and we have certain things that we want from the players when we’re playing, dependent on opposition clearly. We just want to be exciting and get people off their seats.”