Following Rovers’ hard-fought 3-1 victory over Shrewsbury Town, which was steeped in penalty controversy, Rovers’ manager Tony Mowbray spoke to the clubs’ media team after the game to discuss the events that had just unfolded on the pitch.
“The result’s big as it was important not to let them get too far in-front of us because once you get to 20 games, the games tick down really quickly. We’re just hunting them down from now on, and we have been doing that for a good few weeks now, and on any given week, if you’re not right at it and drop points, a gap can open quickly and today was about closing that gap and keeping it tight. I felt their good qualities today, how fast they were on the transition and the threat they posed with their passing on the edge of the box. I ultimately felt that over 90 minutes, we were the better team, but we have to now prove that over the next 20 games.
“I hope they sense our hunger for wanting to be in the top two after that performance, but it could equally motivate them and drive them on. They’re not going away from the position they’re in, but it’s down to us to win our games to affect Shrewsbury’s season as we’ve played them twice and taken 4 points. We need to make sure that we stay right on it every game because if we go to Fleetwood in the next game and lose, and Shrewsbury win, the gap returns to how it was before today’s game, and if somebody beats us, they deserve to do so because they were better than us.
“The performance was pleasing. The challenge for the players today was to see whether they could find that right balance and intensity, because I think Shrewsbury are a really high intensity side who are very athletic and I thought we had to match them early on, which we did. I thought the lads showed great character to get the win as they executed our game plan perfectly, despite being pegged back by a questionable penalty. Your big players have to produce in your big games and two of ours did today, although (Charlie) Mulgrew and (Danny) Graham played magnificently and got the goals, there needs to be special mentions to the likes of (Craig) Conway and (Richie) Smallwood who ran their socks off and (Elliott) Bennett, who played slightly out of position in the centre of midfield but looked like he played there all of his life as he did amazingly well. Big players produce in big games and ultimately, they made the difference. The penalty situation was very interesting as I talked with Charlie during the week about whether he was going to change where he put it or whether he stayed in the same place, because everyone knows where he’s going, but he decided to take a stutter in his run-up and the goalie went a bit too early which allowed Mulgrew to slot it into the corner. It’s great to see that he can put it on both sides of the goal, but I’m delighted that it went in and secured the points for us.
“I think, ever since I’ve been here, this is the fittest Danny Graham has ever been. He works extremely hard in training and I’ve talked about him pushing his body over the limit of his comfort zone, due to his age and he’s doing that. If you want to extend your career, you have to work hard, be wary of what you put in your body and you have to drive yourself to keep going, and if Danny wants to prolong his career, he has to keep doing what he’s doing now, which is ultimately benefitting the team. I’m sure Danny will want to finish as the top scorer, he’s got a way to go in order to catch Charlie, but if he keeps performing like he is, he’ll keep getting the opportunity to play in the team and can try increase his goal tally.”
Mowbray also spoke about the team spirit and potentially doing more business in the transfer window, in addition to touching on the supporters, as he praised the 12,000 or so fans that turned up inside Ewood Park which helped push the team to claim the victory.
“All the players in the dressing room are high-fiving each other so to speak, and are all part of it. The test in the group, is the strength of them when they’re not playing, and they have to celebrate and be part of it even when they’re not playing as they may be in the team the week after. We are trying to strengthen in this window in order to add more competition for places which allows us to put a team out on the pitch for the different scenarios we may face. I have to give huge credit to the supporters today as they knew it was a big game and they turned out in their numbers to help get the team over the line. I’m delighted for the fans who have had a tough time in recent years and I’m also delighted for the owners that this team is winning again. We still have 20 games left where nothing has been achieved yet, but we’ve given ourselves a good chance to get out of this league.
“My 50-game landmark doesn’t matter to me, it’s about the bigger picture of trying to get out of this league and giving the fans something to smile about as they have a team who will do everything for the badge. We will lose games between now and the end of the season and as long as we go down fighting, I don’t really mind.”
