Ian Holloway relaxed over Charlie Adam bonus dispute

Holloway does not expect the dispute to influence matters on the pitch (GETTY IMAGES)

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway is adamant captain Charlie Adam's dispute with the club over unpaid bonuses will not have an impact on the pitch.

Reports emerged this week revealing the 24-year-old is taking Blackpool to court, claiming he is owed money as part of the contract he signed on joining the club from Rangers in August 2009, which stipulated he would be paid a survival bonus for every season the Seasiders stayed up.

Instead of merely avoiding relegation from the Championship, Blackpool won promotion to the Barclays Premier League.

Adam - a major doubt for Blackpool's clash with to West Brom at Bloomfield Road on Monday after requiring stitches in his ankle following a challenge with Nikola Zigic in last weekend's defeat to Birmingham - reportedly shared a £5million bonus pot with his team-mates based on appearances, but believes he is also due the original bonus.

"At the moment all I know about Charlie is he's got a sore ankle, he's got some stitches in it and all I'm worried about is if he's going to be fit for Monday," said Holloway.

"If there is a problem then it's none of my business. That's between the club and one of the players and it will be sorted out by arbitration by the sound of it so as far as I'm concerned Charlie Adam is my player and I will keep treating him as that.

"If Charlie feels that way, if the chairman feels that way and there's a dispute then someone else has got to sort it out and I'm delighted that it's not me.

"If he decides to be upset and unhappy I'll deal with every mood - and he's had a few since I've been here.

"I'll deal with them and I'll manage them as I've done before. Charlie has no problem with me at all. I've got no problem with him, and the club doesn't have a problem with him.

"If he feels aggrieved then he's dealing with it in the right manner and it will get sorted one way or another."

There have been suggestions that if Adam were to be successful it could bring the legitimacy of his contract into question and even pave the way for him to leave as a free agent.

"If he's out of contract then we'll have to wait and see, if not someone might have to buy him by January," said Holloway. "And it'll be a lot more than we paid for him because he's been a success.

"We'll see next week and then we'll move on from whatever the decision is.

"Charlie knows what I've been trying to do with him anyway is to make him worth a lot of money and then sell him to a much better club than us because I believe he's good enough to play for a much better club than us.

"But we are now a much better club because of him, and I think it's a joint thing. It's been a joint venture and I don't want that to change and that's why I'm not concerned about what I read in the papers. That is a financial thing that will be sorted out.

"And when I know what that is, I'll deal with it the way I've dealt with everything else."

A number of players, including Adam, who have impressed in Blackpool's start to the campaign have been linked with moves away from the club in January.

But Holloway has advised them to focus on the competition for places with whoever he might bring to the club in the transfer window rather than eye a move.

"I think if I was one of my players I would be concerned about who I might bring in in January," he added. "And I think the way footballers should think is that when that window opens I want to be in the gaffer's mind playing really well and trying to earn a new contract myself because I love playing for Blackpool and I love playing for him and I want to stay at this football club.

"And they should be worrying about who's going to replace them because we're progressing."