FLEETWOOD caretaker boss Stephen Crainey’s chances of keeping the job full-time could hinge on how he does against his former Blackpool team-mate, Ian Evatt, over the next seven days.

Tonight’s Papa John’s Trophy game is followed by a Highbury clash in League One next Tuesday, by which time the former Scotland international will probably know if he has done enough to keep the job full time.

Evatt wishes him well, even if there will be no air of sentimentality on the touchline over the next 180 minutes of football.

“I am really pleased he got the opportunity because he’s a wonderful guy and I spent many years playing alongside him,” said the Bolton boss.

“But it’s football and we are professional, and we will be doing the best job we can to win both of those games.

“I wish him all the very best for the remainder of his coaching career but, for now, it is about us and doing what we can to get a win and to get through to the next round.”

Both Crainey and Evatt played under Ian Holloway at Bloomfield Road in a swashbuckling side that fought its way into the Premier League in a memorable tangerine dream a decade ago.

“I don’t know if I necessarily picked him out as a manager but what I will say is that the squad was full of warriors,” Evatt noted.

“What we lacked in ability at times we gained in mentality, team spirit and work ethic. And I think what you have seen is that the group has produced a lot of coaches and managers in recent times.

“Jason Euell is assistant at Charlton, I’m a manager here, Rob Edwards is doing really well with Forest Green, Matt Gilks is coaching here, Gary Taylor-Fletcher is out in the US now.

“That was a very good group which had something very special – but I am sure Crains will feel the same that, right now, it is about our own club and doing our own jobs to the best we can possibly do them, getting a win against each other.”

Another former Blackpool man, Alex Baptiste, could be brought into the side tonight to help some of the younger players in Evatt’s side.

At 35, the defender is starting to think about his own life after football – and Evatt isn’t sure whether he will stay in the game.

“With Alex, he is very knowledgeable and understands the game really well,” he said. “He might stay in the game in an agency capacity, I am not sure, but football needs Alex Baptiste in some way, shape or form. It would be a shame if he stepped away completely and I have said that to him.

“For me, he needs to stay involved. He is very well respected, had a very good career, so whatever way he sees fit I hope he stays in the game.

“For now, he is really important to us as a player and a key part of the team who plays well when he is called upon."