After Rovers were forced into a replay late on in their eventual 2-2 draw with Birmingham City at Ewood Park in the FA Cup Fourth Round, Jon Dahl Tomasson lamented his side’s wastefulness following the full-time whistle.
“We’re disappointed with the outcome. You’re always disappointed when you get yourself in a position to win a game and concede that late. We all knew that Birmingham City are a good side, but their form hasn’t been showing that lately. To come from behind after conceding so easily, after creating some chances and playing good football was great to see. We should have killed the game off and we need to manage the game better towards the end, but we’re still in the competition and in the draw for the next round.
“We should be extremely disappointed not to win this game, but on the other hand, that’s football. Football has its ups and downs and when you make mistakes costs goals and games, but we equally should have taken some of the chances we created. We’re disappointed with the result, but we’re happy with the general atmosphere today. It’s great to hear the fans behind the team as the togetherness is really important as it helps the young squad. We’re happy with the 25 minutes of great football we played, where we created a lot of chances.
“Today is a classic example of what happens when you don’t score your chances. When we were 2-1 up, we had two or three opportunities where we probably should have scored, yet in the end, you can always concede goals. It’s disappointing to concede a goal that late. The lads have shown great spirit in the way they came back after going behind so early. The way we played and how we created so many chances was extremely positive, but of course, we need to learn how to manage games better. It’s a crazy feeling when you’re leading and you know you should have won the game, but you’re standing here with a draw. On the other hand, we’re still in the cup and we go to Birmingham on Tuesday with a positive attribute and wanting to win the game.
“Experience always helps, no matter what situation you’re in as a team. Of course, young players will always make mistakes, that’s part of football. Yet, we can’t change the situation we are in.
“Joe (Rankin-Costello) has been playing really well lately and has improved a lot. He’s grabbed his chance when it presented itself and he’s putting forward some good performances, full of confidence, but he also makes the right choices with the ball at his feet. When you train midweek, there should always be an approach towards the game at the weekend and what you want to see. You should always try and put your ideas forwards, but people learn and adapt at different speeds. Coaches want things to be done quickly, but that’s not always possible. Joe is someone who can learn things, he can listen and that’s a good quality for people looking to improve; he’s been brilliant lately.
“Joe is looking a lot more confident in his body, after a lot of injuries. If you see how many total minutes he has had in the Championship, in his career, it is not much. If you look through our squad, you’ll find a lot of players with not even one full season of Championship football, so they’re still quite new to this level, but Joe has done a great job.
“Every player should always have the mindset that they can improve and get better. Thinking positively helps you actually improve and become better. You should never be too satisfied with staying where you are. It’s a good way to show that, although you could be having a difficult time and are out of the team, you have to show that you want to do well in training and try and get back into the team. We watch every training session back after seeing it live in person, so it’s also about catching the eye of the staff.”
