Holloway seeks to complete remarkable turnaround

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF FINAL: Blackpool v Cardiff (Wembley, 3pm)

Today at Wembley he will stand 90 minutes away from taking Blackpool into the top flight for the first time since 1971.

Victory against Cardiff in the Coca-Cola Championship final would give Blackpool an estimated £90 million (€103.5m) and complete the fairytale for the Lancashire outfit and their charismatic manager.

“I became impatient at Plymouth so I left to join Leicester but I couldn’t change anything that was happening there,’’ Holloway said. “We got relegated and I got dumped on my backside and had no job for a year.

“It’s times like that when you have to look at your own part in what happened and take responsibility for it.

“But we judge managers too early in this country. If you looked at Sir Alex Ferguson after his first four years at Manchester United, would you have said he was any good?

“Now he’s probably the best manager that has ever been.

“I look at Fergie and Arsene Wenger, and would I like the chance to do their jobs? Of course I would.

“Am I ready? I don’t think so. But I’m learning all the time and I really appreciate the experiences I’ve had in my life so far.”

A year out of the game at least gave Holloway plenty of time for introspection but returning to management proved difficult.

“I went for three or four interviews but didn’t get offered anything,” said Holloway.

Then Blackpool came calling last summer. Holloway’s brief from chairman Karl Oyston was a simple one: keep the club in the Championship.

Incredibly, he may take them out of the second tier and into the Barclays Premier League.

No-one could have foreseen the impact Holloway would have in transforming a team rated favourites for relegation to serious promotion candidates.

The game has been billed as the biggest game in Cardiff City’s history, but it could be even more important than that. The debt-ridden club may be at a crossroads and their future direction could well be determined by today’s game.

Former Cardiff and Wales striker Nathan Blake admitted: “I think a lot of people fear if they don’t win on Saturday and do stay in the Championship, what is coming is not going to be pretty. I don’t think the club would fold but cutting back seems inevitable with their debt.’’