After Rovers marked ‘Lancashire Day’ with a 1-0 victory over Stoke City that saw the Blues move up to fourth in the division, a delighted Tony Mowbray expressed how proud he was of his young side after their victory.
“Despite the win, there were aspects of today’s display that I wasn’t happy with, particularly the first-half. We didn’t really utilise the fact we were playing against the wind and didn’t drop balls behind them, which would have allowed our speedsters to latch on in-behind their defence. I think we deserve to win the game; I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. We had enough chances today, to win two or three games, let alone the one. We were brilliant defensively, as well as looking threatening going forwards, on the transitions. I’m very happy with the players, they’re happy with their performance and I hope we’ve sent the travelling fans home, happy. We need to stay focussed and keep going.
“I believed that we had the quality within our final third today, to get that winning goal. We threatened to do that in the first-half but made some bad decisions late on. Ben Brereton Díaz is always a massive threat and he could have scored in either half! Reda (Khadra) is a bag of trick, he’s the fastest player we’ve probably ever seen at the club, during my tenure at least, and he’s got a rocket in his right-foot. We were delighted with him when he turned on the edge of the box and smashed that in, but he’s still got a lot of development in him. Saying that, we’re delighted that he helped the team win the game.
“It was very good and important for us to see out the game and get the clean-sheet after we went ahead. I thought we witnessed some outstanding performances today. John Buckley was amazing today, Scott Wharton as well. Scotty kept going into challenges and always came out on top. Darragh (Lenihan) who was immense, deserves a mention as well. Jan Paul (van Hecke) was also brilliant. It’s very difficult to come back into the side, after his suspension and give such an assured performance. I’m trying not to miss anyone out for praise, because they were all amazing! We know that (Joe) Rothwell has flashes of brilliance and he showed that again today and, of course, Lewis Travis is a warrior. We need to keep going with this group. They enjoy each other’s company and it’s great to manage them, because they just want to play, run, work and win.
“Everybody came together today, and played their part, including the substitute goalie! Being a second-choice goalkeeper is a very hard job, because you have to train and then sit for months and months and not get game-time, then you suddenly get thrust in at the deep-end. We’re delighted for Aynsley (Pears) because his hard work has paid off with a match-winning save. We’re going to have to wait for the scans to see the extent of Thomas Kaminski’s injury, but if Aynsley has to play, then we’ll get on with it and I’m sure he’ll do very well and take the opportunity with both hands.
“The supporters deserve days like today. I think it’s great to see so many of them travelling up and down the country to support this team. I’m not critical, because I’ve talked long and hard about how important the fans are at Ewood, because they can lift the team when they get engaged with the supporters, but if we can get more people in at home, I honestly believe that the results will roll on positively. You can see what happens when you have such a big away support on the road, because the team are able to find the extra yard and extra bit of energy.”
The boss was also asked about Rovers’ position in the table, with this victory leaving his side in 4th place in the division.
“If I’m honest, the only games that really matter in this division are the last dozen. I’ve been there and I’ve been top of the division in January, two or three times and finished outside the playoff places which was really frustrating. The depth of squad might be important, so we need to try and keep these young players fit and keep everybody going. If we can do that, then we’re a match for most of the teams in this division.”
