Jerry Yates: Spell out of Blackpool team could be just what I needed

The striker has scored two in two since returning to the team, having taken 10 league games to score from open play.

The 24-year-old was forced to sit out for a couple of weeks and watch Shayne Lavery find the back of the net on a regular basis.

But with the Northern Irishman out with a hamstring injury, Yates has another chance to hold down his place in the team.

“Of course it plays on your mind, it’s frustrating,” Yates said of his long wait to score from open play.

“I had to bide my time but obviously Lavs was on fire and Gaz (Madine) is a big player in the team.

“When the gaffer gave me my opportunity, I tried to grab it and so far I’ve done okay.

“I couldn’t afford to let my head drop when I was out of the team. I know it’s a long season and it took me 10 or 11 games to score last season to get going as well.

“Maybe taking me out of the team gave me a rocket up my backside, as they say, and probably spurred me on.

“I grafted, kept my head down and waited for my chance, which I’m appreciative of.”

After scoring Blackpool’s winner against Blackburn Rovers before the international break, Yates notched again in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Despite the setback, Neil Critchley’s side are still in good nick, sitting 15th with just one defeat in their last five outings.

And Yates, last season’s top scorer with 23 in all competitions, believes there’s still a lot more to come from the Seasiders.

“I just think we need to believe in ourselves a bit more,” the forward said.

“We had some good results before the break, so we just need to get back to that.

“We’re disappointed obviously but we have the ability to go out there and correct it.

“Forest are a good team and they’ve got plenty of good players. They utilised them well and they got the better of us.

“I still think on our day we can beat anyone, though. We’ve just got to put our heads together and get it right.

“We’re disappointed with ourselves because we felt we could have taken the game to them a bit more.

“I think we could have shown a bit more confidence and we were a bit sloppy at times, but with games

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