With the 2017-18 Rovers season complete, Tony Mowbray wrapped up the season by providing his thoughts, to the club’s media team, on the tough 46-game campaign that his side had participated in, as his side managed to match their pre-season expectations and return to the Championship at the first-time of asking. Additionally, the manager briefly addressed the supporters during the customary lap of honour, following Rovers’ 2-1 victory over Oxford United.
Addressing the supporters following the victory over Oxford, which saw 27,600 crammed inside Ewood Park, Mowbray said; “First and foremost, I’d have to say that the stadium today showed the footballing world what Blackburn Rovers is all about. When I came into the stadium today, my heart was pounding because the atmosphere was that amazing. I know we have challenges ahead and challenges in-front of us, but as long as the team give us everything they’ve got, every day, we’ll be striving to get back to where this club belongs, to the Premier League!”
Once the celebrations had been complete, the club’s media team caught up with the man who had masterminded Rovers’ return to the Championship, as he summed up his thoughts following the long, draining season which ultimately turned out to be a successful one for the Blues.
“I’m delighted that we won the game, not just for me and the boys, but for the fans as well. Today was an eye-opener for me, because I can’t stress how happy I am, to be the manager of a club with such a great fanbase. Unfortunately, the evidence for that wasn’t seen throughout the season, but if this is what we can achieve with all the supporters behind us, it shows that this club is a Premier League club in the waiting. It’s now up to us to keep giving them a team that will make them want to come down and support not only us, but the club and the town as a whole. This is how football clubs improve, you get the players that give their all and they’re then backed by the support who stick with them because nothing is plain sailing in football. Overall, the fans were great today and they stuck with the team right until the end.
“I have to send my congratulations over to Wigan Athletic, who have been a great this year. They have some fantastic players and a top-class manager, so congratulations to them on clinching the title. Ultimately however, our aim was to get promoted and we’re delighted we’ve achieved our aim. To finish on 96 points is great, because normally, we’d win any league with that amount of points which shows how well Wigan have done this season, but we’re content with finishing 2nd and returning to the Championship.
“We had to keep driving, even after we 90 points, because Shrewsbury Town were still on our heels. The pleasing aspect for me this season, is that, if you look at the league table after 11 games and compare it to how it is after 46 games, you’ll see how well we’ve done in taking points off both Wigan and Shrewsbury. It’s easy to say that the teams with the biggest budgets will be the successful teams in the league, but I’ve been on the other side of it, where I’ve not had the biggest budget. Saying that, what I do know, is that regardless of your budget, nothing in football is easy to achieve, because you still have to go out there and perform. Take today, for example, Oxford came here with nothing to play for and gave a good account of themselves with a decent performance. If you think back to our first home game of the season, where we lost to Doncaster and the supporters were in frustration, we’ve done ever so well to rally and come back from that to seal promotion, so the players all deserve tremendous credit for sticking together and showing their quality. We should be very proud of the team and celebrate the promotion, but we’re looking ahead to a very busy summer where hopefully we’re adding more quality to the squad.
“This match sums up the squad, in that they wanted to win for the fans. It’s great to see Jack Payne come off the bench and have the urge to show the crowd what he’s capable of, and that’s what we’ve had this year, player who understand that they’re part of a large group of footballers, meaning some will miss out, but they’ve all been supportive and I’ve had no issues regarding them moaning or sulking. They should be really proud of themselves as should their families because they’ve worked really hard to get this club back into the Championship. As a manager now, my focus is solely on recruitment for next season.
“Hopefully, everyone connected to Blackburn Rovers Football Club, whether that being the players and fans or the staff who work in various departments around the club, are all delighted with the performance and the season as a whole and hopefully everyone leaves today with a smile on their face. I talk about my family a lot, because they’re the most important thing in my life besides football, so hopefully the success we’ve had this season has turned the club into a big happy family.”
