As Rovers rounded off their impressive return to the Sky Bet Championship with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Swansea City, Blues boss Tony Mowbray faced the club’s media team for the final time this season to offer his thoughts on the game and the season as a whole, going into what will surely be a busy summer at Ewood Park.
“I thought with the head of steam we built up during the second-half, I believed that, if there was to be a winner from today’s game, it would have been us. We had some great opportunities late on and yet that final pass or cross let us down during the final stages of the game, but overall the chances to emerge victorious were there, yet we failed to take them. We forced the game onto them really well in the second-half as we played some really good positive football, but ultimately failed to clinch the victory.
“It was good to give Jacob Davenport and Harry Chapman some time in-front of the home fans, although I wasn’t anticipating on introducing Jacob as early as I did. The overall performance was alright, especially seeing as we played a good footballing team who displayed their quality with their passing and their movement. Saying that, although Swansea City were good, I thought the team worked ferociously hard in tough conditions given the hot weather, to ask questions of their defence and yet, we end the game believing that we could have come away with all 3 points.
“This game has potentially summed up the story of our season. We’ve played against some good teams this year that we took out of their strides. I thought we were good today on the ball, in the second-half, which is encouraging because it shows we’re adapting to a different style of play which doesn’t force Danny Graham to be the focal point that we bounce the ball off. We moved it from side-to-side and got in behind them quite well and I thought it was much more like the performance that I hope we’ll see a lot of next season. I’m pleased for the players and their families because it was a good day to recognise the fans’ support and appreciation with the lap at the end, in order to show how much we care about their support, which again has been magnificent this year. This year could have easily been a difficult season, because the gap between the top of League 1, and the top of the Championship, is massive financially, and with us coming in from League 1, we had to compete against so many different powerhouses, with many of them having Premier League parachute payments. Everyone knows that this is a tough league, but I think the players gave a really good account of themselves this year, and hopefully the support base can appreciate that, however we do understand that we need to push on and improve in order to get to where we want to be.
“This group gave everything for the badge last season, and they’ve done it again this time around. We pretty much have the same group, barring a few additions, so for them to show some passion for the badge whilst working and fighting day in, day out against some quality opposition, is great and I’ll be hoping for the same next year, because I’m very proud of them. The reality in football, however, is that we need to keep moving on and try to improve our personnel in order to get better, which is what we’ll try to do this summer. In moving forward, the odd player might get left behind, but they should look and see the positives they’ve contributed to this club over the years I’ve been here and have hopefully enjoyed their time at the club, but we’ll thank any outgoings for their services and wish them the best for the future.
“In spells over the past few games, I’ve seen the style of play that I want to work on in pre-season. It’s not been a complete overhaul, because that will happen over the summer on the training ground. The last half-an-hour against Norwich City was pretty decent in terms of our style, whilst the games against Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers showed more of what I’m looking to adapt the players into playing. I thought we generally controlled both games and although they’re not at the top end of the division, you have to start by beating and controlling the games against the teams down the bottom, before taking on those at the top. The seeds of our style are there, and I think that we’ve got a great young team who are capable of performing to my expectations. If you break down the team that ended today’s game, with the likes of Lewis Travis, Harry Chapman, Jacob Davenport, Joe Rothwell and Adam Armstrong, it shows we have some exciting footballers within our squad at the moment that, hopefully if they stay focussed and fit, we as a group will be a menace to ever team in the league, next season.
“I hope that over the next few seasons, this team can grow together and turn into a real force within this division. Alongside the players in the first-team, we have the likes of young Dan Butterworth, John Buckley and Tyler Magloire who have all had their parts to play this season, and they’ll also be knocking on the door and in and around the first-team picture over the coming seasons which makes the future really exciting. Bradley Dack, Darragh Lenihan, among others, are also rather young, in their early to mid-20s, so overall, we’ve got quite a young and athletic side who we’ll keep working with and trying to improve upon with lots of training and experience, as well as hopefully, some new faces. They are an amazing group of people as well as players and they should go away and enjoy the summer and come back and be ready to go again next year in order to improve on this campaign.
“I don’t think it’s wrong to say that Brad has had brilliant spells and underwhelming spells this season, however that’s potentially acceptable due to this being his first season in this division, but for him to equal his goalscoring tally of 18 from last season, against a higher quality of opposition, is brilliant for him personally. He is a brilliant lad, he’s a joy to work with, he wants to win every 5-a-side in training as well as every 11-a-side game out here at Ewood, he doesn’t like getting subbed off, he has a sole focus on playing and winning for himself and his team. We, collectively, as staff, players and supporters, should enjoy his talent and encourage him to press on and improve upon his performances and stats as we move on and improve the squad. His tally is impressive because he’s not a centre-forward, he’s more of a link between the midfield and Danny, he fights for the ball, he comes deep and drives forward, but the difference with Bradley is that he’s always getting into the 6-yard box to finish any scraps, which is why his goal tally for us has been so impressive.
“Danny (Graham) was very good today. He takes the brunt of it as he leads the line. He’s trying to adapt to the way I’m trying to evolve this side into playing, and as I’ve said, we’ve used Danny as a key platform to play off, but as we move forwards, that style is going to fizzle out and be replaced by a more possession-type style which will see Danny turn into the ‘finishing touch’ for us in which he’ll be required to find the back of the net with his clinical finishing, rather than be the focal point of our forward movement. I must commend him, however, on his desire to run, work, move into the channels and hold the ball up for the midfield to take over.
“I hope, with some additions, we can challenge higher up the table than we did this year. I have to go to India, in the next few weeks to talk to the Owners and ask about the ambition and the budget. I think we could do with some help coming in, because, although these lads are brilliant, the extra bit of knowhow, quality and experience within the ranks, wouldn’t go amiss. The bringing in of experience will help us win games and help the lads who are currently here, to grow and develop faster and understand various aspects of the game better. Whilst I do think the experience we have here, with the likes of Danny Graham, Charlie Mulgrew and Corry Evans is vital, we do need some fresh blood that can help us take that extra step forwards. We have to wait and see from now on, because it’s all well and good saying it, before I’ve even gone to India. It’s hard to sign good footballers because when you’re out, either in Britain or in Europe, watching them, there’s always someone else who knew about them first, as I saw when I went to the continent and loads of other teams had sent their scouting department to look at players. We’ll just have to keep working hard and wait and see where we are come the start of pre-season.”
