Blackpool have managed to get themselves right into the mix of teams chasing one of the final spots in the play-off places in League One this season.

However, it is going to a major task for them to continue their form and momentum and make sure they stay ahead of a host of sides battling around them in the table. Whatever happens this season with the Tangerines play-off challenge they have shown a lot of progress throughout the course of the campaign and have a lot to build on heading into next term.

If they can earn promotion back to the Championship, it would be an excellent achievement for the club and show that they are once again ready to compete above their weight after years in the bottom two tiers of the Football League. Neil Critchley deserves a lot of credit for how he has developed a lot of the players there and built a good side to watch.

While we wait to see if Blackpool can earn promotion this term, we have taken a look back at some former players and put together a list of the Tangerines’ top 10 oldest ever players. Click ‘next’ to scroll through the list…

Currently, Blackpool’s tenth oldest ever player is former defender Mike Flynn, who makes this list having made an appearance for the Tangerines at the age of 35 years 06 months 19 days during a 2-1 defeat against Hull City in September 2004.

Flynn was signed by Blackpool in January 2003 from Barnsley with the defender returning to the North West after leaving Stockport County after a ten-season stay. He managed to make 21 appearances for the Tangerines during the second half of the 2002/03 campaign. The following campaign he played an instrumental role in helping the club win the Football League Trophy and made 30 appearances in the league.

However, in the 2004/05 season, he managed to make just six appearances for the club before leaving for Accrington Stanley. Flynn spent just one campaign with Stanley and then went on to have a spell playing with Hyde United, Stalybridge Celtic, Radcliffe Borough and Salford City before retiring in 2011.

Coming in at number nine on this list is someone who is not only one of the club’s oldest ever players but also one of the finest players to ever play for the club. He makes this list having made an appearance for them at the age of 35 years 07 months 10 days during a 1-1 draw with Man United in May 1971.

Armfield spent his entire career with Blackpool and he was an excellent performer for the club throughout his time with them earning plenty of adulation and also international recognition with England and he was part of the squad that won the World Cup in 1966. However, having not played in the 4-2 win against West Germany in the final he was not awarded a medal but that was rectified in 2009.

The defender was part of the Blackpool side that achieved the club’s highest ever league finish of second place in the top-flight during the 1955/56 campaign. He also won the Young Player of the Year award in 1959 and narrowly missed out to Bobby Charlton for Footballer of the Year in 1966. Armfield in total managed to make 627 appearances for the club.

Upon his retirement, he also spent time as a manager at Bolton Wanderers where he won the third division in 1972/73 and also at Leeds United where he was runner-up in the European Cup in 1974/75.

In at eighth on this list is former Blackpool keeper Lee Jones, who makes this list having managed to make an appearance for the club at the age of 35 years 08 months 27 days during a 3-3 draw against Gillingham in May 2006.

Jones arrived at Blackpool from Stockport County in the summer of 2003 after he had spent some time on loan at the club during the 2002/03 campaign. He managed to be an important player for them in his first season for the club and helped them to a 14th placed finish in the third tier and also helped them to win the Football League Trophy.

The following season Blackpool again finished in the bottom half with Jones playing a key role for them once again, and then in the 2005/06 season, they again finished lower down in the table in 19th place. He was then allowed to leave in January 2007 signed for Darlington after he had a short period out on loan with Bury.

The keeper spent just a short period with Darlington, before moving on to Nantwich Town and then completing his career with Morecambe. He has since spent time working as a coach with the Shrimps.

Coming in at seventh place on this list is Simon Grayson, who makes this list having appeared for Blackpool at the age of 35 years 09 months 23 days during a 2-1 defeat at home to Colchester United in October 2005.

Grayson signed for the Tangerines in the summer of 2002 on a free transfer after he had left Blackburn Rovers after several loan spells at other clubs. The defender managed to establish himself as an important player with Blackpool and he managed to make over 120 appearances for them and also was part of the side that won the Football League Trophy in 2003/04.

He then moved into the coaching staff and was manager of the reserve side at Bloomfield Road before he was eventually handed the chance to takeover as caretaker manager during the 2005/06 campaign. After guiding them to safety that season he was then appointed permanent manager ahead of the 2006/07 campaign. Grayson then guided them to promotion in his first season in charge.

Blackpool were then established in the Championship over the next year and a half before he eventually resigned as manager so that he could take over at Leeds United. He guided the Whites to promotion to the Championship and has since spent time in charge of Huddersfield, Preston, Sunderland, Bradford City, Blackpool for a second time and is now at Fleetwood Town.

Coming in at sixth place on this list is defender Matt Jackson who makes this list having made an appearance for the club at the age of 36 years 08 days during a 2-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in October 2007.

Jackson enjoyed a good career and had a lot of successes most of which came during his six-year spell with Wigan Athletic who he helped earn promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2004/05. He only had a very short time with Blackpool and that came towards the very end of his career with him signing on a short-term loan deal in the 2007/08 campaign.

The defender managed to make just three appearances for the Tangerines before he was recalled by his parent club Watford in November 2007 after an injury to Jay DeMerit. He did not really make much of an impact at his parent club upon his return and he eventually retired in August 2008.

In at fifth place on this list of former Blackpool midfielder Barry Ferguson, who makes this list having made an appearance for the Tangerines at the age of 36 years 02 months 16 days during a 1-0 defeat at home to Burnley in April 2014.

The midfielder enjoyed a successful career with the likes of Rangers and Birmingham City, winning many trophies in Scotland and also the League Cup with the Blues. He signed for Blackpool back in the summer of 2011 from Birmingham. He immediately became a crucial player for the club and was named as their captain for his first season at Bloomfield Road.

Ferguson made 41 appearances in the Championship in the 2011/12 campaign as the Tangerines made the play-offs but lost in the final against West Ham. The following season he made 19 appearances as Blackpool finished in 15th place in the table.

The 2013/14 season saw the club relegated form the Championship and he was named caretaker manager towards the end of the campaign after Jose Riga had left Bloomfield Road. After leaving the club that summer he took over as manager of Clyde and is currently manager of Kelty Hearts.

In fourth place on this list is former Blackpool defender Emmerson Boyce, who makes this list having made an appearance for the club at the age of 36 years 06 months 23 days during a 3-0 defeat against Rochdale in April 2016.

Boyce enjoyed a lengthy career and had good spells with the likes of Luton Town and Wigan Athletic, with who he made around 263 appearances in the Premier League. He moved to Bloomfield Road in August 2015 after his contract with the Latics came to an end. The defender managed to be a decent performer during the 2015/16 campaign but was not always a guaranteed starter.

Overall, Boyce managed to make 26 appearances for the club in League One in his single season with the club, but he could not prevent them from being relegated to League Two. The defender retired at the end of the campaign but he has recently come out of retirement to play for non-league Ashton Town.

In at third place in this list is former Blackpool defender Collin Hendry, who makes the list having managed to appear for the Tangerines at the age of 37 years 03 months 11 days during a 2-1 defeat at Cardiff City in March 2003.

Hendry was another player who had enjoyed a lengthy and successful career in which he managed to win the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and also the Scottish Premier League title with Rangers. He only spent a brief period with Blackpool towards the end of his career arriving on loan at Bloomfield Road in 2002/03 campaign.

The defender managed to make 14 appearances for Blackpool during his loan spell with the club after returning to his parent club Bolton Wanderers he retired from football in 2003. He then went on to manage Blackpool during the 2004/05 campaign, but he was fired in November 2005 after a poor run of form. Hendry has since gone on to manage Clyde and been a coach at Blackburn.

In at second place on this list is former Blackpool forward Kevin Phillips, who makes this list having managed to make an appearance for the Tangerines at the age of 39 years 05 months 18 days during a 2-1 defeat at Charlton Athletic in January 2013.

Phillips was a smart signing by Blackpool in July 2011 when they picked him up on a one-year deal after he had left Birmingham City. He scored two goals on his home debut in a 2-1 win against Peterborough United. Overall, he went on to score 16 goals in the Championship during the 2011/12 campaign as they managed to reach the play-offs, but they were beaten by West Ham in the final.

The forward then made 18 appearances in the first half of the 2012/13 season in which he scored two goals. He was then loaned out to Crystal Palace in January 2013 and he managed to score six goals in 14 appearances and helped the club earn promotion to the Premier League and scored the winning goal in the play-off final against Watford.

Phillips then moved to Leicester City ahead of the 2013/14 campaign and he helped the Foxes earn promotion to the Premier League as well. The forward then retired and has been working as a pundit.

Currently, Blackpool’s oldest ever player is arguably their best ever player with Stanley Matthews having appeared for the club at the age of 42 years 09 months 19 days, during a goalless draw against Everton in November 1957.

Stanley Matthews made arrived at Blackpool in May 1947 and he managed to reach the FA Cup final in 1948 and managed to win the inaugural Football Association Writers’ Footballer of the Year. He helped them finish in third place in the league in the 1950/51 season and they were again runners-up in the FA Cup in 1951 losing in the final to Newcastle United.

However, in the 1952/53 season, he would help them win the FA Cup with them coming from 3-1 behind to win 4-3 in what has been dubbed as the ‘Stanley Matthews final.’ Overall, he went on to make 428 appearances for the club before leaving to return to Stoke City.

He spent another four seasons with the Potters and also gad a spell with Toronto City before his retirement.