Football
Exclusive: Ian Evatt Poised for Blackpool Return as Club Moves to Appoint Former Defender as New Manager
Former Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt is set to become the new Blackpool boss following Steve Bruce's departure. The 43-year-old is excited about the challenge of improving the team's fortunes despite their poor start to the season. Evatt, who played over 250 games for Blackpool, has impressed club officials with his vision for success. A deal is in the works to get him in as quickly as possible.
Bolton Wanderers FC v Barnsley FC - Sky Bet League One by Alex Dodd - CameraSport | Getty Images
Former Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evett is the favourite to become Blackpool’s new manager, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
The Seasiders are still on the search for a new boss after recently sacking Steve Bruce.
But our sources have learnt that the club have now interviewed Evatt and are currently trying to agree terms on the 43-year-old taking charge.
Former Blackpool loan player Stephen Dobbie has taken interim charge of the club who are languishing in 23rdplace in League One after a poor start to the season.
However, despite eight losses and just two wins from their opening 11 leaguer games, Evatt is understood to be excited about the challenge of changing the Lancashire club’s fortunes.
Senior Blackpool officials are believed to have been impressed with Evatt’s vision for success and are now working on a deal to get him in at Bloomfield Road a quickly as possible.
The Seasiders host Wycombe Wanderers in their next league game on Saturday, followed by an away trip with Peterborough United the following weekend.
Former defender Evatt was a favourite with fans when he played for the club across two spells, first 25 league games during a 2006-2007 loan spell, before a successful permanent spell between 2007-2013 when he played a further 205 league games for the club.
BLACKPOOL AFFINITY
In all, Evatt played 254 times for Blackpool in a seven-year stint in Lancashire and chipped in with ten goals.
His long affinity with the club is understood to be one of the main reasons why he would love to return to his old hunting ground as a manager.
Evatt started his managerial career with Chesterfield in April 2018, before a move to Barrow not long after.
He finished with an impressive 44.44 win percentage and then was snapped up by Bolton in July 2020, finishing with a fine 49.81 per cent win ratio after 261 games in charge of the Trotters.
Evatt won the League Two title as a player in the 2013-14 season and was also Football League Trophy runner-up the same season.
As a manager he won the EFL Trophy with Bolton in 2022-23 and guided the club to a famous promotion to League One two seasons earlier.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.