Following Rovers’ second successive home win, which saw them edge out a narrow 2-1 victory over mid-table Barnsley, gaffer Tony Mowbray offered his thoughts on a tight game, to the club’s media team.
“We’re pleased with today’s result. I told the team at full-time that, sometimes, ‘you have to find a way to win in these ‘scruffy’ games’ and we managed to do that. We lacked the fluency we had the other night at Preston North End, yet every team in this league has a different way of playing. With total respect to the lads, we’re not Manchester City or Liverpool, who can totally dominate every football match. Barnsley did to use, what we’ve done to a lot of teams this season, by taking us out of our rhythm. They cut our passing lines off and made life really difficult for us. We knew that they were clever and sharp on the transition, with their strikers who can play one-touch and flick it round the corner in order to create chances, and it proved to be a difficult game for us, as we were expecting. I’m a bit upset with their late goal, because a clean sheet against them would have been a real ‘feather in the cap’ of our defence and ‘keeper, but we’re more than happy with the three points. I’ve told the lads not to overly look back on this game, because we knew that it would be a difficult and awkward match to play, yet we’ve come through it with the points, which is all that matters. Because you play against such diverse opposition in this league, you need to find different ways to win games. Some teams are ‘Total Football’ teams, whereas others are heavily reliant on long, direct balls. Barnsley are a high-pressing transition team, who, on transition can give you problems. We managed them and coped with their threats well enough today, to emerge victorious, which is very pleasing.
“To score a goal against Barnsley, at any time in the game, let alone on the stroke of half-time, is very important. I always felt as if they were going to create some chances and threaten us, so to score when we did was good. It wasn’t a game where I felt that we were totally in-control, because I felt that, on any given bad pass, they could break away and score. Thankfully, we’d already got the second goal through Sam (Gallagher) – who we’re delighted for – by the time they actually did score, which was amazing. As I’ve said to the team, we just need to keep focussed, put the points in the bag and prepare for Saturday’s game here against Millwall. There won’t be ‘easier’ games coming up, so to speak, but there’ll be different games along the way, where we will be able to win comfortably. They won’t all be as tough as today, because if they are, then you can win, lose and draw some, but I think we’ve been on a better level than that, and I think we’re capable of going on a run.
“We’re delighted for Sam, because he’s had a great week. It was tough on him today, because I very nearly picked him to start, yet with the way we tried to set-up – which we ultimately, probably got wrong, as I said to the side during the break – we pushed our wide players out really wide, in order to try and stretch their back five. We’ve been playing our wide players pretty centrally in inside spaces and attacking so far, but the change didn’t really work. Barnsley worked really hard from the front with their press, which restricted us from getting the ball into our forwards. We changed a few things during the break and although we improved in the second-half, the game still ultimately proved to be a grind, against a very young, energetic team who will give teams problems this season.
“The difference in Sam’s confidence is miles different to how it was a few weeks ago. I think, him sitting on the sidelines watching the team score goals and win matches is difficult for some strikers, including Sam, because he was having to see his mates get all the glory as the team functioned really well, whilst at times, he wasn’t even coming on. Yet, for him to impact the past three games as much as he has, getting two goals in three, has been fantastic for him and will only his confidence good. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that Sam wasn’t going to impact our team. My first thoughts are to prioritise our forwards, in Adam (Armstrong), Ben (Brereton) and Sam, alongside the likes of Tyrhys (Dolan) and Bradley (Dack), but we’ve also got Harvey (Elliott). We’ve got some good attacking players which includes Joe (Rothwell) if we desperately need to use him in the frontline, or we’re trying something different, in-game. They all have to play their part as we move on, both this season and as a club.
“I’m delighted for Ryan (Nyambe), as well. The assists number is something we talk to Ryan a lot about, because if you look at the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, they’re hitting 20-30 assists a season from full-back, whereas some years, Ryan wasn’t even getting one. The full-backs are a vital part to how we operate, so much so that Belly – (Amari’i Bell) – nearly scored today! Had he grabbed himself a goal, we probably would have had the flags out(!) But for Ryan to get to the byline and cut it back for Adam to do what he does, is fantastic for Ryan and for the team. Again, confidence for footballers is key. I think Ryan knows how good his athleticism and strength is and when he’s one-on-one with somebody, you never feel as if he’s going to get knocked off the ball or be outpaced. He’s a machine, really. We just have to keep working on the technical side of his game, in order to help him improve his ability to flick balls down the channel and deliver crosses into the box, like he did today, because the physical attributes and the attitude are all there. Ryan is a brilliant lad, who we desperately want to do well.
“Time will tell whether Barry (Douglas) and Scott (Wharton) have sustained bad injuries. As I stand here, not long after the game’s conclusion, I say that we have to assess them tomorrow and see how they’re doing. Barry’s was more of a glute. The muscle in his backside was feeling uncomfortable whilst he was running, and he’ll probably have a scan to check that out in a few days’ time. There are a lot of fatigue injuries up and down the country, so we’ll have to see whether Barry’s is just fatigue or indeed a more serious problem. I think Scott was just on the end of a clash of heads. I hope he’s going to be fine, but I wouldn’t expect him to have any problems considering he didn’t lose consciousness and he was chatting away in the dressing room. We took him off as a precaution, so hopefully he’ll have a good night’s sleep without showing any symptoms of concussion before deciding on Monday whether he’ll train with the group or not.”
