After guiding Rovers to their first victory over Cardiff City in 15 years, Tony Mowbray hailed his team for their ‘resolute’ performance that saw them bounce back from three consecutive defeats.
“The players showed how good a side they are, tonight. I thought we showed it over the past three games, but we didn’t back it up. We probably didn’t show it against Leeds United for long enough, because we had a 20-minute spell in the first-half where we could have scored three, but for long spells against Wigan Athletic and Barnsley, we dominated the possession and got into the right areas, we just failed to take our chances when they fell to us and we paid for it in both games. There’s been some good play, but I understand we all live and die by results and I’m sure the doom-mongers would have been out after three defeats in the space of a week or so, but I like the team, I’ve always said that. We’re trying to grow the squad and the club because we want to be better next season and keep making individuals better and the team collectively stronger.
“I think we showed our credentials tonight. We said at half-time how unbelievable it was that we were losing, given the balance of the game being in our favour for most of it, but we do have things we need to work on, such as tightening up, defensively. I’m pleased for the lads because in football, it’s pretty hard when you don’t get what you deserve and obviously, defeats pile up. Living in the media and social media-orientated world that we do, questions will always be asked when the defeats start to mount, but I try to stick with the lads and tell them that as long as their brave, they want to play and their doing as we ask them to do, then we’ll be happy. Obviously, we’re happier when that yields us a victory, so tonight is a good night.
“I thought I got everything I expected of them pre-match, tonight. Their bravery to play was there. You could see our centre-halves had the ball at their feet a lot and they were coming out and playing it into the feet of our strikers and wide players, which helped build up the moves. We do a lot of work on the positional play of the team, because if we want to be good in possession of the ball, everybody needs to know their job and their positions on the pitch when the ball is in certain areas, and we’ve done a lot of work on that. We’ve probably overly worked on it, which has taken away from the defensive side, which is probably why we’ve lost a few goals tonight, but you have to try and find the right balance when you marry the two together in order to try and move towards keeping clean sheets. Sometimes, the best form of defence is retaining possession of the ball and yet on transition, you can’t be open and expansive and then lose the ball in a certain area, because it could cost you. Hopefully through the summer, we’ll have enough time to work with the team towards getting that balance right, both on the transfer front and also to try and create an identity where every opponent knows that when they play Blackburn Rovers, they’ll have a tough day.
“It’s been a frustrating week for me because we’ve invested in the top end of the team over recent windows with the likes of (Adam) Armstrong, (Sam) Gallagher, (Ben) Brereton and (Dominic) Samuel, alongside (Danny) Graham. I’m delighted for Danny for both, his start and his goal tonight. I’ve talked about Danny recently, playing in a slightly different role to what he’s probably used to because I didn’t want him to come here and fight with (Sean) Morrison for the whole 90 minutes. That wasn’t the style of football we’re looking to play anymore, but to be fair to Danny, he took it onboard and linked the team together well and played great with his back to goal, on top of his usual prowess which earnt him a goal tonight. I’m pleased for Dom, especially after the misses he had against Wigan and Barnsley, as I’ve told him that there is onus on him to be more selfish and want to score as a striker. Adam did what he does tonight and scored a worldie and at this rate, he’ll probably be having his own goal-of-the-season competition. I’m delighted for Adam because although he’s still a young boy, he works so hard for this team. We just have to keep developing him, growing him because he’s a huge asset to our football club.
“It was a wonder-goal, but most players don’t know where the goalie is, usually. The goal the other day, by Che Adams for Southampton against Manchester City would have probably been spoken about beforehand. Southampton would have talked about City’s high-line and how their goalkeeper sweeps up outside his box. For Arma to even recognise where their ‘keeper (Alex Smithies) was and to make the clean contact he did, with the bend because of the angle of his run, was magnificent. It was an amazing finish. I’m delighted for him, but first and foremost, I’m delighted for the team and the fans who watched at home. I know it’s been a really tough week. It’s been tough for us all, you put so much effort into this job, not just me, but the coaching staff and the players, because we’re so desperate to do well and yet when you lose, it’s hard to take. It’s hard to take because you don’t know what to say. Do you say: ‘I thought we were great tonight, but we didn’t deserve the result’, or ‘tonight you didn’t take the chances that fell your way?’, no you don’t. But tonight, we did take our chances and we won. If moving forward, we can be more clinical with the high number of chances we’re creating then, I’m sure we’ll see some big scorelines from this team and opponents will be afraid of us.
“It’s a case of ‘one down, four to go’, now, but the next game is a tough one. West Bromwich Albion at home won’t be easy. It’s similar to playing against Leeds because we’ll be playing a team with lots of talented individuals at the top end of the field, who can create a chance or score a goal out of nothing. They don’t even have to play very well to score and yet, West Brom have a couple of players who can score great goals. It’ll be a challenge for us, but one we should face head-on with a competitive edge. We should play with the ball, like we know we can do and give them problems to see if we can get a result.”
