Holloway ready to enjoy play-offs

Ian Holloway claims he could not have envisaged Blackpool being involved in the promotion shake-up following a chaotic pre-season at Bloomfield Road.

The Seasiders host Birmingham in the first leg of their npower Championship play-off semi-final on Friday night, chasing an instant return to the Barclays Premier League.
Such a scenario seemed unlikely as Charlie Adam, DJ Campbell and David Vaughan led an exodus from Holloway's playing squad last summer and those that remained were riven by disputes over a reduction in wages on the back of relegation.
"The energy around the place was hideous," Holloway said. "We won the first two games after a terrible pre-season - absolutely awful results.
"I think we got beaten twice, didn't really play very well and everybody was moaning and arguing about their money because it went back down.
"Luckily the chairman agreed to move nearly all of them back up because of the arguments that I was having with him and the club secretary. He didn't have to but he did it. I felt that settled things down."