During the build-up to Rovers’ rescheduled home clash against 18th in the table Walsall, Tony Mowbray spoke to the clubs’ media team to discuss the injury to Charlie Mulgrew, the previous match against Northampton Town and the upcoming opposition, Walsall.
“Charlie had his scan at lunchtime on Monday. The initial thoughts of the medical department on Sunday, after the game, was that the swelling on his ankle wouldn’t be as bad as first thought, so we’ve got our fingers crossed for when the scans come in. We’re always going to miss Charlie, but injuries are part and parcel of football, I don’t want to make a big issue of it as we must move onto the next game, but of course, the sooner he’s fit, the bigger his impact on the team will be.
“Derrick Williams showed us what he could do as a centre-half on Saturday. He’s very mobile, he’s quick, he’s got a fantastic jump on him and he’s an experienced footballer now. I have no problems or fears of playing Derrick as a left centre-half with Amari’i Bell as the left-back. Amari’i is a different type of full-back to Derrick, Amari’i can whip in a ball straight off his left-foot, whereas Derrick, whilst he has that ability, prefers to cut inside and cross with his right-foot, which gives us different options. Losing one player can’t impact hugely on your team, which is why it was important for us to secure Amari’i, but thankfully he’s made an immediate impact and impression.
“There’s a touch of frustration that we didn’t beat Northampton on Saturday, yet we have to be realistic and know that we’re not going to win every game. We have to keep plugging away and keep the performance levels as high as they were on Saturday and I’m pretty sure that if the levels remain high, we’ll win more games than we lose. You have to try and keep a balance of morale within the squad, not to get too happy when we win and not to get too down when results don’t go our way. I think we have to look forward to the next game against Walsall now which will allow us to produce another high energy performance which will hopefully produce a positive result in order to propel us onto the next game. Sooner or later down the line, there’s going to be a defeat somewhere, so we need to be able to react to it when it happens. Yes, we should be frustrated and disappointed, but we should put it behind us as quickly as possible because we all know the target that we’re trying to achieve.
“Saturday’s frustration from myself and within the camp has gone as we’re just all looking forward to the game on Tuesday night. We were frustrated that we were making life easier for the teams around us as you can give them a lift, every time you drop points, as you can create an opening for someone to close the gap or leapfrog you. For us, at this point, we have to – whilst chasing the likes of Shrewsbury and Wigan – stay positive and carry on hunting down our opposition. We can only affect the games that we play in, so we have to try and get three points every week.
“Time will tell about whether we will be able to replicate another high energy performance after such a short rest period. Walsall, to my knowledge, haven’t played for around ten days, which would have allowed them to have a lot of preparation for the game, create a game plan and get some rest. The test for us, is to play at the intensity that we’ve been getting to recently and try and beat a Walsall team who will be fully up for the game.”
To end the interview, Mowbray was questioned regarding any potential deals, incoming or outgoing, that may happen between now and the transfer deadline on Wednesday night.
“I’m in constant contact with the club’s CEO, Mr. Waggott. Steve has been working really hard behind the scenes. We’ve got a few questions out there, regarding players from other clubs, but I genuinely think that we’ve done all our business early in order to strengthen the team in the areas that needed strengthening. Despite that, you have to be aware that there are players not far from returning from their respective injuries; Darragh Lenihan is probably a week away from fitness, (Marcus) Antonsson is probably ten days away, (Peter) Whittingham is weeks away, Corry Evans will probably be in the squad to face Walsall and Ben Gladwin is also ten days away. These guys will be like new signings when they’re back in the building and training amongst the rest of the squad. I’m not anticipating a busy Wednesday night. If anything, one or two young players might leave on loan for some first team experience, but barring that, we’ll have to see what deadline day brings.”
