Blackpool boss Ian Holloway is getting down to work in preparing for their Premiership campaign.

Holloway's priority will be to negotiate improved deals for all his players, in addition to the £5million promotion bonus they shared.

Any new contracts are set to contain clauses dropping players back down to Championship wages if the club is relegated.

But there was no sign of Holloway, 47, accepting that as inevitable as he received a Civic Medal from the Mayor of Blackpool. The Seasiders chief, who is only the second person to receive such an award, kept shooting from the lip.

As well as being in charge of paupers and boxers, he compared himself to a master baker!

He said: "I just had to take what was on the shelves here, add a few ingredients and it came out as something special.

"On the first day of training, I told them I wanted to play 4-3-3 but we couldn't get out of our own 18-yard box we were so bad. Luckily, the penny soon dropped.

"We know we haven't got the best facilities here, but that doesn't matter because of how well the staff look after us.

"It's well known we do our own washing here and I've had terrible trouble with that. I haven't had a washing machine that works since I came here but there's always someone to sort it out without looking for thanks - and that's what is great about this place."