After watching his side lose their unbeaten start to the season, following their 4-1 defeat away at Ashton Gate, against Bristol City, Rovers boss, Tony Mowbray discussed his thoughts on the game with BBC Radio Lancashire.
“I think today’s game, from our point of view, was a game of missed chances, especially in the first-half. I don’t believe I’m exaggerating when saying that we could have gone in at half-time, with 3 or 4 goals, but it didn’t happen for us. Bristol City are an okay football team, who have attacking threats, which we have to accept, but when we went chasing the game at 2-1, we left ourselves open for the counter-attack, which ultimately led to the goals that made it 4-1. As we tried to get forward and see if we could nick a point, our side was left unbalanced as we had 4 attacking players, who normally wouldn’t be on the field together, but that’s football, and we have to face the consequences. We have to take this defeat on the chin and move on.
“I haven’t seen all of the goals back, but what I do know, is that we lost our discipline for their third and fourth goals as a result of the attacking players we had on the pitch that caused our team to be unbalanced. Of course, you have to count their final 2 goals, but I don’t think they reflect how the team normally is, which suggests to me, that they only scored their third and fourth goals, because we tried to get an equaliser. Conceding the 2 goals at the end, is okay really, because it just goes with how I’ve always set myself up as a manager, as we’ve tried to go on and get something from the game. Sometimes you can lose heavily because you’re trying to get back into the game, and that was what happened to us today. It’s very well and good staying tight and losing 1-0 with no attacking threat, but my mentality is to try and get back into the game, even though I’m aware that it may cost us, as it did today, but that’s football. Credit to Bristol City for taking advantage of the opportunity.
“There’s an overall frustration for us, that we weren’t 2 or 3 goals up at half-time, as it would have been a truer reflection of our team, than the final result is, but that’s what happens when you fail to take your chances, and you’re up against quality attacking players. Saying that however, had Kasey (Palmer) and Adam (Armstrong) found the net with their chances, it could have been a different story. It is what it is, we have to put this towards the back of our minds now and move forwards, with a positive mind-set.
“We dominated them in the first-half, but as soon as their second goal went in, our mentality changed. I thought that, up until their second goal, we were fine, and we felt as if we could win the game. This team aren’t used to losing, as this is only their second defeat since February, and they’ve found it difficult to cope with the fact they haven’t got anything from this game. Even though we had a lot of attackers on the pitch, I feel that we should have done better during the last 20 minutes to deny them the opportunity of getting a third and fourth. I thought we were really good for the first 60-70 minutes, but ultimately the last 20-30 minutes of the game has let us down. Even though I believe that we should have got something from this game, football can be cruel at times, which it was today.
“The key aspect now, is how we respond after the international break. We’ve got 2 weeks until the next game, which is against a side who also lost 4-1 away from home, yesterday, in Aston Villa. The game will see 2 teams who have a lot to prove to their supporters go head-to-head, and we will no doubt be ready for it in 2 weeks’ time. We need to keep going throughout the international break. Those who are going to stay here, will need to keep working, as we do during any normal week. The new players who are also remaining here will be able to take this as an opportunity to get up to speed with our demands and expectations as they integrate themselves into the squad. Yes, the players will have some time off, but they’ll also be working hard on how we play and what we expect from them in certain situations, which will hopefully help us in the future.”
The gaffer rounded off the interview by discussing Bradley Dack, and whether the playmaker would make his long-awaited return after the international break, against Aston Villa.
“I do expect Bradley to be back against Villa. In terms of actual fitness, he’s fine, and he wasn’t too far away from getting on the team sheet today. I just felt that it wasn’t the right time for him to make a return, as I didn’t want to potentially risk him in a one-off game, which could have seen him be out for more than the 2 weeks we have off. He’s got 2 weeks now to fully recuperate and get back up to speed, so I’m certain he’ll be available for Aston Villa, barring anything happening during the break.”
