Following Rovers’ valiant 2-1 win away at relegation-threatened Stoke City, Tony Mowbray praised the Blues’ ‘fighting spirit’ after they managed to bounce-back after a freak own goal, to secure three deserved points following super-sub, Sam Gallagher’s 84th minute winner, which secured only their third away victory from their nine matches played away from Ewood Park.
“I think we controlled the game generally, especially in the first-half, I thought we controlled the game pretty well. Our possession was good, and we caused them a lot of problems. There was a lot of anxiety around the stadium, because their results haven’t been as they would have liked, yet Michael (O’Neill) had won two out of his first three in charge. I’m happy enough with the result and performance today because there are certain games that I talk to the team about, that we should be trying to win and this was one of them, with them being in the bottom three.
“We’ve beaten Hull City away who were struggling at the time, as were Reading when we beat them at their place and yet we’ve lost to Leeds United, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion all away from home, who are in the top three. I don’t see that as a major problem. We will win games away from home because of the camaraderie and ‘fighting spirit’ that this team have, alongside the fact that they’re good players. We have to keep the results coming at home at Ewood Park, of course, but I’m pleased for everybody today.
“It’s been a long week. This was our third game in the week and yet I have to say that there haven’t been many times where this team haven’t given everything they’ve got. I was unhappy with the first-half display away at Birmingham City, but apart from that this season, I don’t think there’s been a time where I’ve questioned their drive and desire after a match, whether they’ve won, lost or drawn.
“Sam (Gallagher) is a centre-forward, who gets paid to score goals, but I’m delighted for him to grab the winner today, because it’s been a tough shift for him. What I see from Sam is that he gives everything that he’s got every game. He runs, he chases, he fights for the ball, he takes the physical battering and as long as he gives us that, I’m happy with him. I know we want goals, because every team needs goals, and I’m sure that if he keeps doing what he’s been doing, the goals will come. If anything, he’s working too hard, running down the sides of the box and chasing things into the corners. A lot of strikers don’t do any of that running. They stand in the box, wait for the ball to come to them and take all the glory, whereas Sam works really hard for this team and as long as he continues doing that, I’ll be really happy with him.
“I think they were chasing the game at the point when we brought Sam on. I thought it was a good time to bring him on because, with total respect to Danny (Graham) who did fantastically well for an hour as he held the ball up and kept it up top and linked the play together, Stoke went to a back three for the last 20 minutes as they gambled for an equaliser, which created a lot more space down the side for Sam, who’s quick, strong and powerful, to run into. They got too high up the pitch, trying to gamble, and it gave us the chance to break away, before picking the right pass and scoring. Some might argue that Danny might have gotten in that same position and scored, but I don’t think that Danny would have had the leg speed to keep up with Elliott’s (Bennett) run, especially after he played in midweek, which proved how vital Sam’s speed is.
“I’ve talked a lot about crowds and the impact they have in games. You could sense their supporters bouncing after they had scored and the noise they were making was incessant in the hope of driving their team on, but what I think it did, it drove Stoke on too high, they gambled a bit too many men forward which left them exposed at the back and gave us the space to counter-attack into and ultimately score the winner. That sort of thing can happen and it has happened to us at home when we’ve gone forwards chasing a goal, we’ve been left vulnerable at times, but that’s football, you have to be mindful about stopping transitions and counter-attacks whilst also being wary about who you leave in certain areas of the pitch and what other areas you leave exposed, whilst also not being overly cavalier because good teams will pick you off and hurt you.
“I haven’t done anything differently this week, a week where we’ve gotten nine points from nine, from what I was doing two or three weeks ago where things weren’t going our way and people weren’t very happy with me. I’ve endlessly said that we’re a team in transition who are trying to get away from playing a lot of long, diagonal balls. Danny, is great when he’s in the team, but he has to learn to hold the ball up for us, which he can do, but in order to be successful, we have to be a team that doesn’t keep giving the ball back to the opposition by just hitting long balls forward and, at times, flicking it onto nobody. We need to be a team that can control the game more. It’s taken a bit of time on the training ground, it’s different, players sometimes revert back to type to what we’ve been telling them to do over the past two and a half years, but that’s something we have to change in training as time goes on.
“I just keep doing my work, whether the fans are happy or don’t want me here, I’m not going to change anything I do. I work hard with the players, I love the players and I keep telling them that I’ll do anything for this group of players, I’ll stand up for them, defend them or whatever, as long as they work hard and give me everything, I’ve got no qualms. I’m delighted that the players have had a fantastic week and have achieved maximum points, because they deserve it, as they work extremely hard every day. They don’t moan when we’re in, in the afternoons and when we’re watching videos early in the morning before training, they just get on with it and they try and take it onto the grass on a matchday and sometimes when you see their graft, their work and their togetherness and they lose, it’s okay, because every team loses and goes through tough spells. What I do know is that, if they keep working hard, stick together and keep going, they’ll get their rewards at the end.
“Have we got enough quality to make that reward a spot in the Premier League? We’d have to question that. I’ve said that we still need to focus on getting a few more bodies in during the upcoming transfer windows, but you have to wait and see whether you get that time as a manager. I’m enjoying it at the moment, it’s been a good week for the players, the staff and the supporters, so let’s see what the future brings.”
