• Premier League

Holloway to take inspiration from Crocodile Dundee

Ian Holloway has led his side with aplomb © PA Photos

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: The £60 million fight to beat the drop
  
• News: Adam not thinking about Liverpool switch
  

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway is turning to an unlikely source of inspiration as he looks to keep his side in the Premier League with a result against champions Manchester United on the final day.

Holloway, who is well known for his odd management methods, says he will send his players out onto the Old Trafford turf with the words of Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee (better known as 1980s film actor Paul Hogan) in their ears.

"Who's that fellow who was in Crocodile Dundee?" Holloway asked. "It was the best thing I have ever heard in my life and I have used it a couple of times.

"When he was asked how well his career had gone, he said: 'I've bitten off more than I can chew and I chewed bloody well as fast as I could.' That's us, isn't it?"

However, if Blackpool end up in the bottom three, having already amassed 39 points, enough to keep them up in every season since West Ham got to 42 and still went down eight years ago, Holloway will be distraught.

"It will be the end of the world," he said. "It will definitely feel like that. You can't be a football manager, or a player, or have anything to do with a club and be happy if you go down. All you can do is let the dust settle and go on."

Holloway's hopes of survival rest on his players' performances against United, but the manager is confident as they almost managed to pull off a shock earlier this season when they went 2-0 ahead in the first-half, only to lose 3-2. And, if they do get the result they need, Holloway is sure that he will be able to convince his best players to stay on.

"I think if we stayed up I would have one helluva chance to convince one or two of those who have already turned down what we have offered," he said. "We can only offer what we were offering because we might not stay up.

"If we stay up and we know we get extra funds, their deals might be doable. We have 10 wins and are going to Manchester United for what looks an impossible task but we believe in ourselves because of how well we played against them last time."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.