Holloway on verge of towering achievement

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 Championship final would give Blackpool an estimated 90m and complete the fairytale for the Lancashire outfit and their charismatic manager.

Holloway, 47, said: "I became impatient at Plymouth so I left to join Leicester but I couldn't change anything that was happening there.

"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 Premier League.

No one could have foreseen the impact Holloway would have in

transforming a team rated favourites for relegation to serious promotion candidates.

Holloway poured confidence into his players and instilled an energy and desire not seen at Bloomfield Road since Sir Stanley Matthews and Jimmy Armfield were in their pomp.

Holloway uses training methods gleaned from Wales rugby union coach Warren Gatland after they struck up a friendship during their time at QPR and Wasps, respectively.

Blackpool would be the smallest club in the top flight since the formation of the Premier League if they were to beat Cardiff today.

This season their average home crowd of 8,611 was the second-lowest in the Championship – only Scunthorpe attracted fewer spectators.

"If we go up and can get people popping down the M55 motorway to Bloomfield Road then everybody in the town will prosper. It's not just our lives we're trying to change – it's everybody in the town," added Holloway.