Does the two-week international break come at a good time for Blackpool?

The Seasiders now don’t play until the start of October when they host high-flying Norwich City at Bloomfield Road.

Having suffered the second of back-to-back defeats against Millwall on Saturday following last Wednesday’s 3-0 humbling by Rotherham United, many would expect Appleton to want to get back on the horse straight away.

But with injured and suspended players to come back, Pool’s head coach believes the rest could prove beneficial for his players.

Gary Madine is now available for selection after serving his three-game ban while both Callum Wright and Keshi Anderson could be in the frame to face the Canaries.

“Wednesday night (against Rotherham) was a one-off, I don’t envisage too many of them,” Appleton said after Saturday’s defeat at The Den.

“I thought on this occasion we were good value for at least a point, easily, but it wasn’t to be.

“When you’re having a bit of a lull and it’s not quite happening for you, and certain players and characters are missing from the team, that can happen.

“The break probably comes at a good time because it gives us an opportunity to get one or two more faces around the group again.

“We go again and we’ve got a massive game to look forward to in two weeks’ time. They’re obviously right up there.

“But for us, it should be a big crowd, big expectation from them because of where they’re at and the size of their club and hopefully we can put a performance on.”

The Seasiders will need to take full advantage of their rest as they’ll be playing non-stop upon their return with 11 games in the space of just 43 days.

“The first few days they won’t be doing anything, they will have a few days off because they deserve the opportunity to do that,” Appleton said of Blackpool’s international break.

“After that it will be back to working hard and getting a group of players ready to commit to the best part of six or seven weeks of football, which is pretty much going to be non-stop.”