11 hours ago
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Struggling League One side Blackpool have appointed former Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt as their manager on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
The 43-year-old returns to management having left Bolton in January after four and a half years at the club.
Evatt, who spent seven years with the Tangerines during his playing career, replaces Steve Bruce who was sacked earlier in October.
Blackpool are bottom of the third tier with nine points from 13 matches.
"It's incredibly emotional to return here and to be given this opportunity," he told the club website., external
"I know first hand what this club and its supporters can achieve together. We all want to see fearless attacking football where Bloomfield Road is a really tough place for any team to play."
His first game in charge of the club he made 254 appearances for as a player will be Saturday's trip to fellow strugglers Peterborough.
Evatt began his managerial career with Barrow in June 2018 after a brief spell in caretaker charge of Chesterfield the previous season.
He guided the Bluebirds to promotion to the English Football League after the Covid-interrupted 2019-20 season and left to take over then League Two Bolton in the summer of 2020.
Despite a poor start to the season he eventually guided them back to League One at the first time of asking with a third-placed finish.
Back-to-back play-off finishes in the third tier followed in 2022-23 and 23-24 but they were unable to secure promotion back to the the Championship.
They lost to Oxford United in the League One play-off final in May 2024 and struggled for form in the first half of last term, leading to his departure in January of this year.
Having finished ninth in League One last season, Blackpool had a poor start to this season under Bruce and by the time of his exit, the club had lost seven out of 11 league games and were second from bottom of the table.
Stephen Dobbie has taken charge of the club on a temporary basis and saw out one win from three games in all competitions, however they have not won in the league since beating Barnsley 1-0 on 20 September.
Dobbie and Steve Banks will remain on the coaching staff, while Evatt will be assisted by former Blackpool team-mate Stephen Crainey.
