Soccer AM

Oremerod: Not carried away

"I always thought he was just putting it on for the cameras but to be fair he tones it down when cameras are there!"

Ormerod
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Brett Ormerod gave us a fascinating insight into what it is like playing for the hilarious Ian Holloway when he called into the Soccer AM studio.

Blackpool boss Holloway is renowned for his funny, unsual and sometimes down right strange interviews with the press but Ormerod insists he is even more crazy when the cameras and journalists aren't around!

"I had played against his teams a few times but I had never really met him to talk to," Ormerod said. He eventually experienced the maverick boss first hand when Holloway joined the Seasiders in May 2009.

"I always thought he was just putting it on for the cameras but to be fair he tones it down when cameras are there!

"I remember the first meeting we ever had with him. He went on for an hour and half about team tactics and he even brought his chickens into it.

"He said 'I did this for 25 minutes with my chickens and they knew what I was going on about'. After an hour and a half we were there scratching our chins thinking he must have some clever chickens, because we haven't got a clue what he's talking about!"

Bizarre

Perhaps one of Holloway's most bizarre ideas was to demonstrate Blackpool's formation for a trip to Derby using cuddly toys!

"Yes, that was Boxing Day," laughed Ormerod. "He was really ill that day and he was all wrapped up in the hotel and he said, 'right there is a formation in there, go and have a look at it'. We walked into this room and two teams of eleven bears were laid out on the carpet.

"If you had a bear with your name on you were in the team, if you didn't you weren't.

"To be fair it was one of the best away performances we have had and he hasn't used it since - he should probably bring it back!"

However, despite his quirky ways, Ormerod is pleased Holloway is at the club.

"He is brilliant," the forward said. "Blackpool needs a character like that. It has rubbed off on the players and got the fans going - they love him. He has brought everyone together. He looks after his players and wants a tight knit unit and that is exactly what he has got."

Grounded

Blackpool currently sit one point off the play-off spots and, enjoying a great run of form, have been tipped to make the post-season promotion deciders.

However, Ormerod isn't getting carried away just yet.

"There are so many teams in our league who could put a run together and be in the play-offs and it is very early to start talking about promotion. It's an old cliché but we will take it one game at a time."