Derby County defender Shaun Barker is delighted for former club Blackpool and their Premiership promotion.

He says Ian Holloway's management style has clearly paid off.

Barker told the Blackpool Gazette: "I remember his first day with the players at Blackpool. As the way he wanted us to play, he talked about his wife, his family and his chickens for about three hours.

"You see him on Soccer AM and in different interviews and you think, 'He can't be like that all the time' - but he is probably twice as bad as you think he is!

"I think the boys took a while to really understand what he was trying to do.

"I know that when I left that a couple of the lads said they couldn't see it working the way he wanted it to. But as the season has gone on, they have got more and more comfortable, and have probably realised that what the manager was saying was actually spot on.

"Ollie bought optimism and a little bit of confidence to the boys that was probably lacking in the last few seasons.

"Everyone had been happy with us just staying in the division really, then he came in and decided he wanted to do better and push us up the league. He has done a fantastic job and he deserves all the credit he gets."