BLACKPOOL

Last season was as good as you could get. Promotion at Wembley capped off an incredible season.

The big talking point among the fans is our Championship return. We’re back for the first time since our humiliating relegation in 2015.

This season will be different to last because of the great and genuinely passionate local derbies with Preston and Blackburn. Sorry, Fleetwood.

I’ve really missed seeing friends and family. Football is the basis of so many of my relationships, and without the matchday experience it’s been easy to drift apart.

I won’t be happy unless we stay up. Finally back at the level we feel we belong at, it would be gutting not to have a chance to establish ourselves in the Championship. Our most underrated player is Grant Ward. He arrived as a winger, but Neil Critchley has reinvented him as a box- to- box midfielder who breaks things up and moves the ball.

The opposition player I secretly admire is Chris Basham, and it’s no secret. He always gave 100 per cent at Blackpool and what he’s done for Sheffield United is hugely impressive. The one change I’d make would be being bold with plans for a new East Stand. The semi- temporary one isn’t fit for purpose at this level.

Save the date for October 23. Preston have had the better of things for far too long and it’s time to put that right at Bloomfield Road. The best thing about matchday at Blackpool is The Armfield Club: a new fan- run venture opposite the stadium which promises to be the finest pre- and post- match meeting point we’ve longed for.

Our key player will be Chris Maxwell [ below]. A few eyebrows were raised when the keeper was made captain, but his performances and leadership were a massive part of our success. The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is of complete admiration. A poor start to last season had some panicking, but to take us up in his first full year of management was exceptional.

We’ll finish 15th. There’s no reason why we can’t stay up comfortably.