Following Rovers’ brilliant return to winning ways, after they got the better of Middlesbrough by a 1-0 scoreline, courtesy of Sam Gallagher’s sixth of the campaign, Tony Mowbray spoke of his delight for both, his team and the fans, after the Blues reclaimed second place in the Sky Bet Championship table. The boss also spoke about the return Bradley Dack, who returned from his second career Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury, prior to this game, as he played 45 minutes in the under-23’s 4-0 victory over Leeds United.
“That was a massive win for the team, for the camaraderie of the group and for what we ask them to do. Seeing the joy on their faces, to keep another clean sheet is amazing, because I’d built this game up to them as a really attritional, hard game of football. I’ve been here for five years and every time we’ve played Middlesbrough, it’s been a really tight game and we’ve not come out on the wrong end of the scoreline many times against them, and we didn’t tonight. I’m so pleased for Sam (Gallagher) to score that massive goal. I’m not sure he’s sick of hearing about Ben (Brereton Díaz) scoring all the goals, but Sam is a lad who has got the tools to become a phenomenal goalscorer and we have to keep working with him. He has to keep working hard and applying himself and hopefully, his reputation can soar, and he can help us win football matches as we move on.
“It felt like the perfect night for Sam to come to the fore and be the main man for us. Reda (Khadra) had done really well for us, and I thought he was really good tonight in spells. He gave them real problems running in behind, but he has to keep working on making the correct decision when he gets into the final third, but he was a real handful for them. I thought (John) Buckley was immense, coming up against (Jonny) Howson. I’d built Howson up for John, like he was the best player in the league, really and John rose to that challenge to show how good a player, he is. I was delighted with them. I thought that we probably deserved to come in at half-time with the lead, but in the second-half, particularly after we scored we had spells where we played with our backs to the wall, which against a good team like Middlesbrough, we probably expected. They’ve scored a lot of last-minute goals and maybe they should have done again tonight, because we gave them a free header in the six-yard box, but they failed to hit the target, and they had another one early on in the second-half that (Lewis) Travis cleared off the line. ‘Boro are a really powerful team, which is why, when I knew that Joe (Rothwell) wasn’t going to be available, I had to put Bradley (Johnson) in there, instead of Jacob (Davenport), because Middlesbrough bring a level of physicality to their set-pieces.
“I hope this goal gives Sam great belief and confidence. He’ll know now, how important a player he is for us, but it gives me a huge headache in terms of selection. If Sam scores the winner at Luton Town, on Saturday and Ben comes back, that might force me to put Ben on the bench and give Sam the chance his goals would have earnt him, for example. We’ll have to wait and see whether or not a situation like that pans out. What I do know, is that Ben will be delighted for Sam. This group are really tight, they care about each other, and they fight for each other, which is massively important. I’m delighted for everybody, including the supporters, as we managed to get maximum points in a big game against a big opponent who brought a sizable number of travelling supporters. Let’s keep going, every game is tough, but if we do lose one or two along the way, that’s okay, because we have to accept it and try and bounce back as quickly as possible, as we did tonight, after Wednesday’s defeat.
“It’s really important, in any football team, to bounce back after a defeat because two defeats can become three, very quickly. If we’d have lost 1-0, tonight, then Luton on Saturday would have been an even harder game, in my opinion. Luton is already a tough game as it is, but particularly away from home, at their tight ground, their high intensity game against back-to-back defeats would have been quite worrying, but we’ll go there on Saturday off the back of a win, with the confidence and belief that we can get a victory down there. We have to keep going, but I’m really trying to impress on the team that we should not get carried away. This league is so hard. It’s possible to win a game as easily as it is to lose three or four on the bounce and then it becomes really hard to get back on your horse. To keep the momentum, you need to keep winning football matches, but it’s great to be on 52 points with 18 games remaining. A few seasons ago, we got 51 points and got relegated. With 18 games to go, we’ve hit the same number of points and with 18 games to go, we’ve got a lot more opportunities to win some more matches and keep that total ticking over.
“The atmosphere tonight was great, and our fans have been exceptional over the last couple of months, not that they weren’t before, because they were, but I think the numbers at home are rising because they’re belief in the team is growing. The fact that they’ve got songs for near enough every player, shows how much they’re appreciating these young lads, who are working really hard for their football team. Our thoughts are with the gentleman who fell ill tonight, and we hope everything’s positive and hope to hear some good news about him, very soon. Generally, the volume and excitement in the stadium, is there and is very evident because the team do talk about how great the atmosphere was and how it helps them over the line.
“I think the performance at Hull City was affected by the absentees. We had both wing-backs and Travis out. Travis is a monster for this team, really. People can say that ‘he can’t hit worldie passes and he very rarely shoots at goal’, but the number of times that he puts his foot in and stops the counter-attacks and transitions of the opposition, is unbelievable. He’s a wonderful kid and is the type of footballer that every successful team has in their team. We’re delighted he’s doing so well and enjoying his football. When he gets a knock, he shakes it off and he keeps going. He’s never once asked me to take him off because he’s been hurt or he’s feeling something, he just keeps going and plods through it, which is why I call him a ‘monster’.
“We sit back now and see what the chasing pack do, to be fair. It’s a case of handing it over to them, to see how they fare. To be fair, the other day, after we lost at Hull, everybody around us seemed to pick up positive results, bar Bournemouth a few days later, but that’s alright. As I’ve said to the lads, ‘don’t worry about the other results, because we can’t affect or control them’. The only ones we can impact on, are our fixtures and we have to win the games put in-front of us. If we do get maximum points, everyone will be sat at home thinking, ‘oh, they’ve won again.’ We have to find a way to win games, and if we don’t, these teams will keep going, the likes of QPR, Bournemouth, Fulham, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield Town will all pick up points and capitalise. We felt how good Huddersfield were, a couple of weeks ago, when we drew 0-0 here. There are some good teams in this league, and we have to keep fighting to cement ourselves in and around the position that we are.
“It’s great to hear that Bradley (Dack) came through 45 minutes with the under-23s, unscathed earlier on tonight. There’s always a bit of trepidation, with these long-term injuries. I wasn’t concerned for him, because I see him training every day, but the first game is always a worry and it’s great that he came through it and helped the team to a comfortable 4-0 win over Leeds United’s youth team. I’m delighted for him, but I’m not going to rush him back. I’ve had some chats with him and there’s no pressure for him to be back in a few weeks. Whether he’s back next season, after a full pre-season, or quicker than that, I’ll be fine, so long as it’s not rushed. At the end of the day, he has to be able to help the team win football matches, rather than having the excitement around his return, but we end up getting beat every week, because he’s not at the level, yet. I’m not saying his return would damage us, but I’m saying that Dacky has to be at the level that this team play at, to get into the team. Despite saying that, he is a wonderful talent with individual skill, but I would suggest that early on, he’d be on the bench and would get involved when we need a goal. That would take some physical pressure off him, and we wouldn’t have to do all of the hard work, as his role would solely be based on being creative with the ball at his feet. I think that’ll make a difference, because when we create the chance, he’ll either be the one playing it, or sticking it into the back of the net.”
