Blackpool boss Simon Grayson hopes Sullay Kaikai keeps finding the net after his first Seasiders goal

The winger netted the first of Pool’s two goals in Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw at Gillingham, Armand Gnanduillet bagging the other to take his tally for the season to four.

Kaikai has been in impressive form so far this season and Grayson is hoping those exciting displays can result in the former Crystal Palace man scoring on a consistent basis.

“I think any attacking player likes to get on the scoresheet quickly,” Grayson said.

“Armand has obviously got his goals quickly and Nathan Delfouneso has got a couple, so it’s nice for Sullay.

“He’s got himself into some decent positions this season but a lot of his games so far have been very exciting.

“He’s settled in really well and it was great to see him get that first goal. Hopefully it’s the first of many.”

The Seasiders will now recover from their 560-mile round trip to Gillingham to make the far shorter trip to Rochdale today.

Grayson was vocal about the EFL’s fixture scheduling before the trip to the Priestfield Stadium and repeated his criticism ahead of this weekend’s game.

“Most of the players will have been in bed by 4am so it wasn’t ideal for any of us involved, whether that’s us, the players, the media or the supporters,” the Pool boss said.

“When the fixtures come out and you see you’re going to Gillingham on a Tuesday night, your first chain of thought is to see where you’re playing the next one.

“Rochdale is more or less a local derby for us which is handy, it certainly could have been far worse. We could have been going back to London or something like that which wouldn’t have been beyond the realms of possibility.

“I was speaking to another manager the other day and they were down South on a Tuesday night and had to come back up North.

“I get why your more local games are played on a Saturday because you’re getting bigger crowds, but there should be a balance.

“We should have been playing a Midlands team where we could have been home in a couple of hours.

“I think you can keep your derby matches on the weekend but when games don’t have an influence on your crowd numbers, you can manufacture those matches to be moved around.

“There was the EFL board meeting in Portugal but at that time I was unemployed and on a beach somewhere, so it didn’t cross my mind at the time.

“It certainly does when I’m getting home at 4am on a Wednesday, so it needs to be something that is up for consideration for every club.”