Following Rovers’ thumping 4-1 victory over MK Dons, Tony Mowbray spoke to Rovers’ media team in regards to the performance and result which saw Rovers pick up their second consecutive victory of the season.
“I’m delighted as the performance was exactly what we were looking for. It got a little bit flat at times, but I asked them to find some intensity and work hard, which I think they did. They worked really hard to take the lead and Mulgrew, after conceding a goal, did what he does from free-kicks. I was more pleased with the way we finished the game as at 2-1, they could have built some momentum and we were there at the end of last season, against Derby, Wigan and Villa, where we were hanging onto a one goal lead. Getting the third was brilliant and the fourth was simply the icing on the cake.
“The first goal was great. We had talked about the Bradford performance and how we had started quickly with 2 shots on goal inside 30 seconds and whether we could repeat it. I’m happy that Dominic (Samuel) scored again and it would have been nice for Marcus (Antonsson) to have scored his opportunity as it’s important that strikers score goals if you want to be successful and Dominic’s name consistently being on the score sheet for the past 4 games or so, is pleasing.”
Mowbray also praised the home crowd for their constant support of the players also stating that their support would be crucial throughout the whole season. He also talked about how pivotal it was to find different ways of winning games in League One.
“I can hear the support from the crowd. It goes to show that the fan base is driving the team on and the supporters should never underestimate how vital they are. The players sometimes may let negative comments and criticism affect their game, they don’t want the ball or they pass backwards to retain possession rather than play forwards. I thought that I was right to applaud the supporters today as their constant support helped the team over the finish line.
“It’s good to be able to win the games in different ways. In this league you have to graft and match teams physically and if we can do that and play some nice football along the way then it’s all fine. We’ve got some good footballers so we should try and play football but I think we should get the ball forward a bit more and a bit faster which will give us a better chance of winning games. It’s away from our philosophy a little bit, but I think in League One, you have to match the physicality and the energy of your opponent.”
