Thursday 26 January 2017 16:51, UK
Blackpool chairman, Karl Oyston, has no alternative to staying in control of the club ahead of planned protests on Saturday.
Oyston is facing continued criticism over his stewardship of the club, and Blackpool fans will join their counterparts from Blackburn in a "shoulder to shoulder" protest before Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round clash between the sides at Ewood Park.
Rovers fans are also protesting against their owners, Indian company Venky's, and the Blackburn Rovers Action Group have encouraged a boycott of the game, issuing a statement to that effect last weekend in conjunction with Blackpool's Supporters' Trust and the Tangerine Knights.
They will "stand together in protest outside Ewood Park whilst the game is played inside", but Oyston says there is little he can do about standing down when the right offer to take over the club is not on the table.
Oyston told Sky Sports News HQ: "I'll never give up that's for certain. It's more if there is an alternative and there is no alternative as things stand.
"They have got to be careful what they wish for. In certain cases I've seen alternatives come along in football many times and it's probably got a lot, lot worse than it was before change came.
"I'm not far off being at the helm for 20 years so I think that is probably commitment in itself, certainly in the face of some of the things that have gone on.
"Obviously both sets of fans have got their issues and they are free to protest in an appropriate way. I really make no comment other than that."
Christine Seddon, deputy chair of the Blackpool Supporters' Club, said the boycott of home games by a large number of supporters at Bloomfield Road would continue.
The Seasiders have played in front of more than 4,000 fans at home only once so far this season, when rivals Carlisle were the visitors, and both of their attendances in 2017 have dipped below 3,000.
She said: Most Blackpool fans, the majority, are boycotting every week not just cup games. That's an incredibly hard decision for lifelong fans to take. But we feel it is the only option we have.
"We have to starve the owners of revenue because that is the only thing they understand. I am afraid Bloomfield Road is like a mausoleum these days but we are absolutely determined we will get our football club back."
Both managers are doing their best to focus on what happens on the pitch on Saturday, when Blackpool boss Gary Bowyer will return to a club he was in charge of on three separate occasions between 2012 and 2015.
Bowyer said: "It is a challenge but you quickly realise you can't control anything like that. The main aim is getting the players focused and prepared to play, do their jobs, and that is exactly what we will be doing.
"In both clubs I have managed to do that, concentrate on the job, do what we can try to produce performances."
The message was similar from Rovers boss Owen Coyle who added: "I've always said we, on the football side of it, can only control what is controllable for you. People have the right to protest but we have to take control of what we can and that's football."
