After Rovers beat Preston North End at Ewood Park, for the first-time in twenty years, courtesy of a Ben Brereton Díaz header, a delighted Tony Mowbray reflected on his team’s 1-0 win as Rovers rejoiced in their Derby Day Delight.
“We’re all very pleased with the team and the result. It was a tough day, but the frustration is that the plans that you work throughout the week go out the window when you see weather conditions like today. We would have liked to have played more football, but today wasn’t really a day for it. Today was a day to play safe, forward and in-behind the opposition, as well as work really hard. We had to force their defenders to defend properly, but also, we had to win our headers, defend well and clear the ball. I thought we did all of those basics really well. Preston North End are a decent team, but in the end, things turned into a bit of a scrap, a fight where football was secondary. I think our team stood up to the fight and we got the result we needed in the end through a brilliant goal. The goal was a flash of brilliance among the mediocrity regarding what both teams were forced to deal with, in terms of both sides not taking chances and focussing on playing forwards. Reda (Khadra) produced a fantastic cross which saw Ben (Brereton Díaz) finish with a fantastic header.
“The win is arguably more impressive, as we had to improvise a bit, given the weather. We normally like to build better from the back, with our centre-backs stepping in and supporting the wingbacks who slide the forwards in, but we weren’t able to do that today. Once we saw the condition of the pitch, we focussed on turning the ball around, playing forward and reducing the short passes we made, which included not playing across the back. All it needed was one pass to get stuck in the water and we would have been in trouble. That ideology is irrelevant now as we won’t be playing like that every week, but the character, determination, fight and togetherness was all there, which is a great sign. Having those attributes is something that all good teams need on a difficult day and we were able to tap into those attributes today.
“I’m pleased for the fans, because it’s always nice when they get the win on derby day. I heard on the TV, this morning that we hadn’t beaten Preston at home since 2001. It’s great for the supporters and for this young team. I can see the excitement in the lads’ eyes. They had a fight today against a bigger, stronger, more physical team, based on the stats and the size of their players and we came out on top. I think the platform at the back was really strong and (Darragh) Lenihan set the standard, today. (Jan Paul) van Hecke was massive and (Scott) Wharton continued to show his composure, as well as his aerial ability and range and weight of his passing. I’m so pleased for (Aynsley) Pears, because he’s had to wait a long time to get an opportunity and whilst he didn’t have lots to do, bar a save in the first-half from their corner, he did the basics well, including smothering a few balls at the end and taking pressure of our defence. I’m pleased for everyone, including Ben. I don’t know whether pressure builds, the more he scores, because an expectation emerges where he’s expected to score in every game, yet he keeps doing that for us and long may that continue.
“That header was brilliant for him as it helps keep his confidence up. He’s growing as a man and as a footballer and the challenge for this club is to try and keep him and see how far he can take this team. Yet, at the same time, his contract will be running down. I read some bits of news in the week that were suggesting that Ben was out of contract in the summer, and I’d like to make it clear to the supporters that, that isn’t the case. He does have an option for another year, so the club have to make decisions on whether we try really hard to keep our players. That’s not just the case with Ben, we have a few in a similar situation, but that’s for the club to work on. It’s not easy to negotiate in this current climate but let’s see what January brings. Hopefully, Ben continues scoring goals and feels as if he’d prefer to stay here and see whether he can keep us in the top six and see how the season finishes for him. Ideally, he’d sign a new deal and put any speculation to rest. As I’ve said to the players, everybody has a price in football if teams offer enough money. It’s better for the team and better for Ben to feel like he has the security of a contract behind him, without the uncertainty of the contract running out and the constant speculation that hangs over him as a result. The fans will get edgy on that, but that’s not a major concern at the moment. He’s enjoying his football and comes into training every day and works extraordinarily hard. He’s washed out after every game due to all the running he does and it’s great to see him celebrate his goals.
“Inside the dressing room, Ben’s loved because he’s a hard-working kid, who’s obviously ‘become a star’. He doesn’t play the star, he’s got no ego, he’s just one of the lads, he works really hard and does all extras that everyone else does. If there’s finishing drills, he’s always there finishing and working on his craft. He’s not a superstar who walks in and thinks he’s done enough at the end of the training session, he always stays behind and does extras, which is great. Every time he scores, I almost count the Chile flags that go up in the stands, if I’m honest! The fans have really taken to Ben and let’s hope he keeps scoring for us, and the story continues.
“I don’t want to lose any of these players, as I’ve said many times, but I’m not daft either. The situation is that you either let some players go for nothing in June, despite the fact we’re trying to give them new contracts, but the balance we have to get right is, what we can commit to through our budget. I don’t want to make it a problem for us, because how much are the best players at this club worth? The sadness is that, other clubs pay a lot more money than we do and if they’re trying to court our out of contract players, and they’re offering them significant amounts more money, it becomes a very difficult situation for the players who might have families, mortgages and other bills. I would never criticise them for their decisions. I tell them, I was a footballer for 18 years and I understand the dilemmas, the problems and the issues, it’s just that it’s coming at this perfect storm where the team are doing really well, the player is doing well, and they look like they’re enjoying their football and yet there’s a contract issue going on behind the scenes. I haven’t got the answer, but I am on the players’ side. Saying that, I’m also an employee of this club, and I need to try and secure the out of contract players, but if we can’t because we haven’t got the money and can’t agree on contractual details with them and their agents, then we can’t and we potentially sell them in January, or we gamble, and they walk away in the summer. They might not want to walk away in the summer, if we get into the Premier League via the playoffs, so we have to wait and see what unfolds.
“The point I’m trying to make is that you roll that dice and you lose some pretty good players for nothing and miss out on some funds for reinvestment and you’re then most likely focussed on free transfers from League One to set up your team. That’s the dilemma you deal with. From my perspective, it’s really difficult, because we’re trying to grow the team, grow the club and are trying to give it a fighting chance to try and get into the top six, every season. It becomes like a second cycle of players. I’m not trying to be self-protective, because I’m fine in life. I love football and I have an amazingly passionate family who are behind me and support me, but I do think it is a second-wave of a team who lack the Charlie Mulgrews, Danny Grahams, Craig Conways, Elliott Bennetts and Derrick Williams’. All of those players were part of the first-wave of team that I inherited and worked with for a few years and they’re all gone now, this is a new team, a new cycle, but I really enjoy working with them. There’s naivety at times, but there’s also the likes of Lenihan, who transverses both of those teams and has become a real leader for this young second-wave. It’s an exciting team despite them not being as consistent as you would have liked, but they’re doing well at the moment and are winning games.”
