Former Bolton defender Neil McDonald has been appointed manager of Blackpool, on a one-year rolling contract.
McDonald, who was part of the Wanderers squad that won promotion to the Premier League in 1995, has spent the last four years working as assistant manager to Sam Allardyce at West Ham United, but left his role at the Boleyn Ground last week after it was announced his deal would be allowed to expire.
The 49-year-old has previous management experience at Carlisle United and Swedish side Ostersunds FK and takes over a club deep in turmoil, following their relegation into League One.
Speaking to Blackpool's official website about his latest position, McDonald said: "This is a great opportunity for me.
"It's a massive football club in my opinion and I'm really looking forward to the challenge. It's a challenge that's going to be difficult - wherever you go it's always difficult - but it's a challenge that I'm really up for and really excited about.
"I've got to try and put my stamp on the football club and get it back to where it was. I've got to try and stabilise it first of all after what happened last year with relegation and change people's minds to try and get the confidence back and push the club on to pastures new."
As well as playing for Bolton, McDonald was part of the coaching staff during Allardyce's reign at the Reebok Stadium - occupying a position at the club between 2000 and 2005.
Pos | Team | Pld | Pts |
2 | Peterborough United | 4 | 9 |
3 | Portsmouth | 4 | 8 |
4 | Bolton Wanderers | 4 | 8 |
5 | Exeter City | 4 | 7 |
6 | Charlton Athletic | 4 | 7 |
View Full Standings >> |
Who is Bolton's 2021/22 Player of the Year? | |
---|---|
32.58% | Oladapo Afolayan |
30.96% | Gethin Jones |
21.72% | Ricardo Almeida Santos |
5.51% | Declan John |
4.05% | Kieran Lee |
3.08% | MJ Williams |
1.78% | Joel Dixon |
0.32% | George Johnston |