"Blackpool turned me from a boy into a man as I moved away from home for the first time.
I was comfortable with where I was at Mansfield however I needed a fresh challenge."

"My first six months at Blackpool I did not get into the first team however I knew early on I could play at that level. I did something during a pre-season training session, at the time I tried to play it down but that's when I knew I could survive at my new level."

"I gradually broke into the first team round about November or December. Luckily enough I got injured just before that period as I pulled my hamstring, I was going to go out on loan so it was a good job I got injured. I went on to play regular football for the first team at the end of my first season which was great."

"My second season Ian Holloway came in and we got promoted, third season was the Premiership year which was unbelievable. My fourth year at the club again an unbelievable experience."

"My last year did not go the way we liked, if the powers that be above the gaffer were decent I would have been at the club for another seven – eight years. I would have retired at the club, I still live here now so that is how much Blackpool and the area had an influence on me."

Baptiste added

"It is sad as I don't look back. I know nothing will ever compete with my time at Blackpool, nothing will even come close to the experiences. It is a special place and a special club. They were the best five years of my life."

The Blackpool fan's favourite played a vital role in the club's promotion to the Premier League. The defender was a regular starter during the promotion season and featured in the Seasiders Championship Semi-Final and Final.

Here is what Baptiste had to say about that stage of his career.

"I'm from the Nottingham area so playing against them in the semi-final was great as they hadn't lost at home. There were a lot of things that went off with their manager and staff, so we stuck one over on them."

"The semi-final, the second leg was the worst game I have ever played. I made a load of uncharacteristic mistakes and I had a lot of personal things I needed to work on before the final."

"We travelled to Wembley a few days before the final and trained down there. We also had a look around the stadium, It was unreal."

"The day of the match came and it was so hot that day. I can remember walking out to the pitch and they had flame throwers going up, they were red hot and let out a lot of heat. As soon as the flames stopped the heat didn't disappear. So I was thinking oh my gosh it is baking!"

"When we went 1-0 and 2-1 down I knew we were going to win, there is a famous quote by one of the commentators they said 'don't count Blackpool out just yet', when Cardiff went 2-1 up and we scored from the corner straight away."

"I think out of eleven games even the two play-off semi-finals, we went a goal down. We knew we could always bring it back, the week before the final Holloway said 'kick the ball in your own net and start playing.' We battered Cardiff in the first half, the second half we kinda dug in a little bit however we deserved the win with the way we were as people."

"The final whistle goes and I thought it is a dream come true. We achieved something I have always aspired to, it was amazing especially with the group of people that we were and the challenges that we faced. We were favourites to go down that year. The people in the crowd and my family being there made it more special."

Baptiste added
"That was the best time of my life, but it was the best eight days after. I was single at the time and my cousins are round my age so I sneaked them into the hotel. There were two free bars at either end of the function room, me and my mates were walking from one end to the other getting hammered."

"On Sunday we came back to Blackpool on the team bus, we were all drinking whilst watching the Play-Off Final match on the TV's throughout the coach. We arrived at Blackpool so all the players went home, got changed and went out again on that Sunday night."

"I think Monday was the parade so we all got hammered beforehand, It was a red hot day and there were loads of people on the promenade. All the players had fun on the microphone and then got hammered that night in Blackpool."

"About eight of us went to Vegas for Rob Edwards stag do, that wasn't arranged by the club but we went over for five days and got hammered there."

To conclude our first article we asked the former Blackpool captain what it was like playing for Ian Holloway.

"What you see is what you get" Baptiste said

"He is class, he brought a brand of football no one could live with. The best thing about my career is at some point during the three years, as we walked out into the tunnel there were teams and players looking across at us that thought oh my god these are absolutely class."

"That's the best feeling I can describe, knowing you are so good that other players can't live with you and knowing they are already beaten. Even the best teams like Manchester United, yeah we lost to them but they knew we was going to turn up and that we could battle the best teams in the world."

"We would have a meeting every day that would range between fifteen minutes and three hours, we would work on our shape every day. The gaffer drilled it into us, even after fifteen years I still know the shape off by heart and still know where I should be on the pitch. It's the way I would play if I was managing."

"He was the same behind the scenes as to how he is with the press. I remember we played away at Doncaster and before the game he said 'right lads I don't care if we win or lose just go out and entertain me.' We drew 3-3 but he wanted to entertain people, he was like that when we got promoted. The gaffer often said I don't want a 0-0 what's the point in defending. He was just brilliant and such a positive influence."

"It didn't work with him at other places because maybe the players didn't buy into him as a person but behind the character there is a genius and it gets overlooked."

"There is a genius behind how he implemented Palace to get promoted through the play-offs that year. Along with how he implemented a Blackpool team that was 16th, with lads that were league one / two players and favourites to get relegated. He got us playing a system that was feared throughout England."