Curtis Tilt apologises for reaction to being substituted in Blackpool's defeat to MK Dons

The centre back was hauled off the pitch just six minutes after a costly error had gifted the away side their second goal of the game.

Tilt received boos from sections of the home crowd after appearing to take too long to walk off the pitch, before heading straight down the tunnel.

It came at a time when Grayson's men were trailing by two goals and were desperately searching for a route back into the game.

Tilt did, however, re-emerge from the tunnel and took his seat among the substitutes to watch the rest of the game with his teammates.

Grayson has now drawn a line under the incident after receiving an apology from the 28-year-old.

When asked if Grayson had sought to speak to Tilt, the Pool boss told The Gazette: “I didn’t have to speak to him because he came looking for me and he apologised for going down the tunnel.

“I wasn’t aware, as I said after the game, but he came back up the tunnel and watched the game and apologised.

“It wasn’t sulking because of the substitution, it was more of a huge disappointment that he had let himself down, let the team down and let the supporters down with a mistake.

“It was out of frustration rather than any arrogance or anything else you want to throw into the mix.

“He apologised to me and he apologised to his teammates and I accept that because why wouldn’t he be frustrated and angry with himself? He made a mistake which contributed to us losing the game.

“If he hadn’t apologised then I’d have been a bit more disappointed and I would have gone looking for him, but he came looking for me which I have a lot of respect for.”

Grayson now hopes Tilt can learn from the mistake that led to MK Dons' goal, which saw him lose possession of the ball just outside his own box for the second home game running.

“We’re trying to encourage players to get on the ball, which is maybe something that didn’t happen too often in the past - I know everybody plays in a different manner," Grayson added.

“It was just a real unfortunate thing where it was probably a lack of concentration and maybe his technique let him down, he’s fallen over and he’s been punished.

“The Portsmouth game happened as well where he got punished, which is the unfortunate part of it.

“But what you’ve got to remember is that Curtis has done some real good things this season, made some good blocks and was a part of a team that started this season really well.

“He’s been unfortunate but he has to learn from it. Whenever you make a mistake, whether you’re a defender, goalkeeper or whoever, you’ve got to make sure you never do it again.

“That’s regardless of whether you’re an experienced player or a young one."