Following Rovers’ 2-0 victory over Rochdale on Boxing Day, Rovers boss Tony Mowbray took some time after the game to speak with the clubs’ media team and discuss his thoughts on how his team applied themselves after the Christmas festivities.
“I think it was a job well done. I thought Rochdale came here to have a go, they started fast and with a lot of intensity and I thought the team they picked had a lot of forward thinking players in it, so we had to match their energy early on, which I thought we did well, we worked our way into the game and got ourselves a couple of goals. We talked at half-time about seeing the game out, keeping the shape and seeing if we could score a third, and yet we’ll take 2-0 with a great clean sheet. We’ll just put the points in the bag and move forwards.
“I think the timing of the goals was important as they were beginning to show how intense they were inside the first half-an-hour, they started really fast and made it competitive in the centre of the park by not allowing Bradley (Dack) to find any space. He’s generally our inspirational spark to get the team going, but it was difficult and the goals came at a really good time. At 2-0, it was always going to be difficult for them to get back into the game, yet, they had a go in the second-half, they changed their formation, which caused us to tinker with a few things. I was hoping we could score a third and despite the opportunities we had, it didn’t quite happen, but the most important thing for me are the points.
“In my opinion, these are difficult games, which people expect you just to come and roll teams over, but it’s never going to be easy. They have an experienced manager who knows the game, and it’s an opportunity for them to come to a stadium like this and have a real go. I thought our central defenders were fantastic, I thought Bradley affected the game more and more, the longer it went on and ultimately, we got the job done whilst also using the squad.
“Professionalism was a main topic during my half-time team talk. We talked about keeping our clean sheet, about not pushing the full-backs too high which would leave space for counter-attacks, and if we had gotten a third, it would have been great. Ultimately, it’s not a problem for us, because we won 2-0. I thought our defensive concentration was great today and David Raya only really had to make one save, which was a good stop, but we have to put the points in the bag and move onto the next game, which is going to be a difficult one against Scunthorpe United who are flying at the moment. I think they’ll fancy coming here and try to make life difficult for us. This game is the next test for us, so hopefully the players will be up for it.
“Elliott Bennett has bags of energy, he’s obviously recharged his batteries during his suspension and he’s somehow managed to catch out the goalkeeper and get a penalty, where really, he had no right to. I’m delighted for Elliott, as it’s obviously been frustrating for him with his suspension, but he is a key player for us. He gave me the opportunity to give Craig Conway a breather after Craig came in and did well over the past 3 or 4 games as well. We’re just utilising the squad and trying to get the best out of everybody, so let’s see if we can continue winning whilst also making some changes in personnel over this busy period.
“The schedule now is for them to rest tomorrow and then we’ll do the build-up for Scunthorpe over Thursday and Friday. Scunthorpe are on a great run and have some very talented players, so we know that they’re a confident side on a winning vein, which gives them an extra yard in their step, but we just must be up for the next challenge.
“It’ll be nice to see the attendance here at Ewood rise up to around 15,000 on a more consistent basis. I think during the festive period, you’re always going to have a higher attendance because of people visiting family and coming back from abroad for Christmas and what not, but it’s just pleasing for me that we got a victory. I know that wasn’t our most fluid performance of the year, but it was a good victory with a clean sheet.”
Mowbray was asked whether he was pleased with the fact Wigan and Shrewsbury drew, which saw the top two sides in the division, drop points.
“I didn’t really mind when I saw it, as today, one of them were going to drop points either way, and thankfully they both did. Their draw puts us back in the situation that we were in before the Northampton game, and the positive thing for us now is that we still have to play both of those sides at home. We need to try and keep our positive home run going, after the blip we had earlier on in the season. We need to make sure that we pick up the 3 points when they both come to Ewood, so we just have to keep applying the pressure and see where it takes us.”
