Michael Appleton delivers his verdict on Jordan Thorniley's red card in Blackpool's draw against Hull City

While leading 1-0, the Seasiders were reduced to 10 men at the start of the second-half after Thorniley brought Oscar Estupinan down as the last man.

It came just eight minutes after the defender had come on as a half-time substitute to replace the injured Luke Garbutt.

When asked if he had any complaints about the red, Appleton said: “No, not really.

“I thought the striker was really clever in what he did because Jordan was actually trying to let him go through.

“He knew that if there was any type of contact he’d be sent off. He was almost thinking ‘go on Grimmy (Dan Grimshaw), get us out of the you-know-what’.

“But the striker was clever enough to keep hold of his arm and you’d expect your striker to do that in that situation, so there were no massive complaints.

“There were lots of good fortune from our point of view though with the fact it was a 50/50 challenge in the middle of the park to put him through on goal.”

When asked if he had to have words with Thorniley to address the incident, Appleton added: “He’s an experienced kid, he knows. He’s not stupid.

“He wanted to have a look at the video time and time again afterwards. He knew the striker was clever with what he did.

“It’s just one of those really unfortunate situations that can happen from time to time.”

Blackpool’s lack of discipline was something Appleton had already addressed with his squad this season, as they sit bottom of the Championship’s fair play table.

The Seasiders have been shown six red cards already this season, double that of any of their second tier rivals.

When asked if there was anything he could do to rectify Blackpool’s lack of discipline, Appleton said: “Not in these situations, no.

“There’s certainly been two or three we can do something about, but the reality is it’s hurting us.

“But it’s difficult to have a bit of a pop at players because these ones are ones you can stomach, whereas there’s been two or three others that have been hard to stomach.”