Michael Appleton: Blackpool reappoint former Oxford and Lincoln manager

Blackpool have reappointed ex-Lincoln and Oxford manager Michael Appleton as their boss on a four-year contract.

Appleton, 46, spent just 65 days in charge of the Seasiders in 2012-13 before leaving to take charge of Blackburn Rovers.

He returns to the Championship club after Neil Critchley left to take the assistant manager position at Aston Villa this month.

Appleton left Lincoln in May after three years at the helm.

The former Manchester United and Preston midfielder, who was forced to retire at 27 because of injury, took the Imps to the League One play-off final in 2020-21 where they were beaten 2-1 by Critchley's Blackpool.

"I am absolutely delighted to be here. To be able to come back to the club, with where it is at during this moment in time, after two really successful seasons, I can't wait to get started," Appleton told the Blackpool website.

"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."

Appleton started his managerial career with Portsmouth in 2011 before leaving for Blackpool in November 2012.

However, he left after only 12 games to take over at Championship rivals Blackburn in January 2013, only to be sacked by Rovers in March after 67 days.

He led Oxford United to promotion to League One and successive Football League Trophy final appearances between 2014 and 2017.

He then had a spell as assistant manager at Leicester City before replacing Danny Cowley as Lincoln boss in September 2019.

Analysis - 'Appleton return unexpected'

BBC Radio Lancashire sports editor Andy Bayes

Michael Appleton's return to Blackpool perhaps wasn't the expected one in the fortnight since Neil Critchley's departure.

Liam Rosenior was seen as such a favourite for the role that bookmakers weren't prepared to take any more bets. The Seasiders maintain that Rosenior was never offered the role, so didn't have a job offer to turn down.

Appleton's first tenure in charge was short-lived, almost a decade ago. It lasted only 11 games before he moved to Blackburn Rovers. On his return, he's told BBC Radio Lancashire that he shared the frustrations of the club's supporters with the previous ownership which led to them boycotting matches.

He's managed just short of 400 competitive matches and has a track record of giving youth an opportunity, be in through the youth system or the loan market. His Premier League contacts might well come in handy for the Seasiders, who won't be among the biggest budgets in the Championship next season.