With Rovers taking a break from league action after beginning their campaign with back-to-back draws, Tuesday night sees the Blues travel to Brunton Park, where they face Carlisle United in the Carabao Cup 1st Round, who, unlike Rovers, have a defeat to their name in their league campaign. Tony Mowbray spoke to the club’s media team about his potential team selection, as well as his ambitions for, not only the match, but the loan window.
“We don’t have any additional injury concerns going into Tuesday night. (Ben) Gladwin and (Jacob) Davenport are the 2 main concerns, whereas (Derrick) Williams only has a slight problem with his foot, which shouldn’t take too long to heal. We’ll be taking a similar group to the one that played on Saturday, up to Carlisle, and hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves and come away with the victory.
“I don’t believe that the injuries that Ben and Jacob have, will heal in the next few weeks, meaning they could be out for a while. With Ben, the problems with his knee means that we have to wait and see how it reacts, which could see him out for quite a while. It’s frustrating for both guys because, Ben’s been here for over a year now, and he hasn’t really taken off, despite doing really well in Austria over pre-season. Davenport’s injury is annoying for him, being a new signing, as he is a focussed guy who wants to succeed in his career, but unfortunately, his development at the club and his ability to understand how we operate, has been stunted by the injury he picked up at Accrington Stanley.
“The cup gives us an opportunity to give players, who haven’t had the most game time, minutes on the field to stake their claim for a place in the starting line-up at the weekend. We’ve always got half an eye on the weekend when picking the team and I think there will be some changes to the side, which could see some players come in, in order to fight for their place. Let’s hope that one or two of the younger players can make a breakthrough at Carlisle and give me a selection headache come Saturday. The lads are still improving their fitness, which mostly comes through minutes on the pitch, so along with the work we did in pre-season, this game provides an opportunity for their improvement to continue. Saying that, however, the team won’t see wholesale changes. It’ll be a team that I feel can hopefully do enough to see us into the 2nd round draw.
“When you’re a Championship club, I think that you should try and progress in the cups, especially when you’re up against a team from a lower league, with all due respect to Carlisle, who beat us in the final game of last year’s pre-season. Brunton Park is not an easy place to go to, which they showed us, last season. In contrast to last season, where our sole priority was the league, the cups give us the opportunity to get our first win of the season, which only breeds confidence in the side and increases the belief in how we play. Although there are no points up for grabs on Tuesday, I’ll be very disappointed if we fail to progress.
“I don’t believe we’ve lost the ‘winning feeling’, but it was important that we didn’t lose the first 2 league games of the season. I know that we’re disappointed, not to have 6 points from the first 2 games, but the manner of the games shows how difficult and unpredictable the Championship is. The team have started well, and we’re still in a better position than this time last season, where we lost the first 2 games. We need to go into the Carabao Cup with some confidence and the desire to be positive, by putting in a good performance which will get us ready for Saturday’s game away at Hull.”
The manager concluded the interview by touching upon whether the potential of new faces coming into Ewood Park, on loan, would be sooner rather than later.
“I want to get my targets in as soon as possible, but it’s not that simple. I can’t sit here and regurgitate the conversations I’m having with other teams, but we’re working hard every day to try and add to the quality and the depth of the squad. When things fall into place and everything is signed, we’ll announce the deal and let the fans know.”
