Blackpool boss Michael Appleton on Jerry Yates' confidence, defensive frustrations and switching wings

The forward scored twice late on against the Hornets on Saturday to secure a 3-1 win.

They were two high quality goals too, the 25-year-old slotting home at the back post before going it alone for his second, beating his marker all ends up before beating the keeper in emphatic fashion.

Yates had only scored twice this season prior to the Watford win but Appleton believes the striker’s brace proves just how important confidence can be.

“Once he’d done his first chop you thought he would let it go with his left foot,” Pool’s head coach told The Gazette.

“But to have the composure to do it again and slot it away was down to the confidence of getting the first goal. That shows how important confidence can be.”

Yates’ late double was a reward for another tireless display, having been forced to fill in at wing-back during the second-half to deal with Watford’s threats down the left.

Appleton added: “I spoke to him at half-time because I could see him getting frustrated on the pitch, so I asked ‘what’s up?’

“I told him there would be a point in the game where you take their winger the other way back to his own goal.

“It might be five minutes into the second-half or it might be five minutes before the end, but we were confident it would happen.

“As it happened, we did it for a lot of the game and eventually once he got the wrong side of him he got the goals.”

Yates initially started on the left wing, but he was soon forced to switch over to the right as Theo Corbeanu was struggling a little defensively.

“Theo played his part and he’s been unlucky on a couple of occasions, but Jerry just gives you a little bit more out of possession,” Appleton explained.

“He’s a little bit more reliable because he’s been doing it for a long time now, whereas Theo is coming on loan and he’s still learning – and that’s the reason why he’s here, to get better to do things right in and out of possession.

“Jerry just gave us that bit more balance.”