Jerry Yates puts Blackpool team goals before personal glory

The 24-year-old bagged a brace against Gillingham on Easter Monday to make it 20 goals for the season, becoming the first Blackpool player to reach that landmark since Andy Morrell during the 2006/07 campaign.

It’s a remarkable achievement for Yates, who has six goals in his last four games, considering he failed to find the net during his first 11 games of the season.

He said: “It’s not bad, is it? It’s about time I kicked on to be fair because in those first 10 or so games I was shambolic.

“It’s a nice feeling for myself but more importantly the lads are in the top six and we’re flying, so we just wanted to keep the run going.

“I was really pleased with my second one especially.

“It shocked me a little to be honest because it came from a cross, when normally they come via a one-on-one, so that was nice.

“I said before that I wanted to score a header and I had my chance. I should have really scored it as well.

“It’s something I’ve been working on in training, so I’ll get better. It would have been nice to get my hat-trick but, like I say, the team is more important.

“We were winning 4-1 at the time, so I don’t mind (coming off). I had put my shift in, so it’s all good.”

Sullay Kaikai and Elliot Embleton also scored as the Seasiders stretched their unbeaten run to 13 games.

Neil Critchley’s men, who also remain unbeaten at Bloomfield Road since October 20, also dealt a major blow to a direct rival, given Gillingham were just two points adrift of them in the table prior to kick-off.

“It was a big performance,” Yates added.

“We knew going into the game what they’re going to be like, so we just had to play our own game, pass and keep possession. It was a good game and a good result.

“They’re a good outfit. They’re very direct but we knew what we were getting.

“We stuck to our plan, we won our one-versus-one battles, kept possession and played our own game – and we got the result.

“I said recently we need to put a few of the draws to bed and put on a big performance at home and we’ve managed to do that.”

Monday’s win capped off a perfect Easter period for the Seasiders, who were also 2-0 winners at Swindon Town on Good Friday.

Critchley’s men now switch their focus to another big game approaching this weekend.

They make the trip to Sincil Bank to face Lincoln City, the side that sits directly below them in the League One table.

“We’ve been on a good run, so we’ve got to keep it going,” Yates said.

“We’ve got some tough fixtures coming up starting with Lincoln on Saturday, but we’ll go into that game full of confidence.”

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