Michael Appleton praises Will Brook response and relishes goalkeeper competition

The 22-year-old started ahead of recent Town signing Matt Cox and kept a clean sheet, with Appleton keen to encourage healthy competition for the gloves.

Asked about Brook's performance on his return, Appleton said: "I expected it. He had to deal with a couple of crosses in the box where he had to be brave. But, what he had to do, he did well, and I fully expected that. 

"Sometimes as goalkeepers, especially young ones, you have to take a step back and have a little bit of an understanding of what it was about. 

"The good thing now is, Matt Cox is in the building, who is good goalkeeper, and he will push Will. There will be games I'm sure where Matt will play instead of Will just because of the type of game it'll be."

Brook had started 18 consecutive matches prior to the Wolves tie, but Appleton believes the brief spell out of the side may have been beneficial.

Explaining his decision, he added: "I had a good chat to him. He set such high standards in his early games, stepped away from them a little bit, I was clear with that and not trying to hide it from anyone. 

"It was an opportunity for him to take a step back in such a big game. He would have been hurting a little bit, but I wanted him to show that in a positive way."

Cox joined on loan from Brentford, replacing Elyh Harrison, who was recalled by Manchester United. 

When asked whether Cox had been brought in as a first-choice goalkeeper or to compete with Brook, Appleton said: "A little bit of both in the sense that he's come to be ultra competitive and push Will for the position. Ultimately, he's coming in to be a number one. 

"But the good thing is there's no guarantees to any of those. I've got a healthy competition with two young players who are desperate to do well. That can only be a good thing.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how Will and Matt react to competition to be that number one."