Blackpool midfielder Keith Southern says everyone connected to the club should be grateful to manager Ian Holloway for taking the club into the Premiership.

Southern's thoughts after winning the man of the match award in the play-off final victory over Cardiff were for manager Holloway.

The award capped a terrific season for the midfielder, his eighth at Bloomfield Road - only Danny Coid has been there longer.

And Southern told the Blackpool Gazette: "When I came off the pitch at the end I just said thank you to Ollie - for what he has done for me personally this season and what he has done for the lads.

"He has moved the club forward tenfold and he was the catalyst behind everything we achieved last season.

"I made a point of thanking him personally because I probably had the best season in my life.

"I didn't miss a game, I was as fit as a fiddle throughout … and who knows what next season will bring."