It was nine unbeaten in all competitions for Rovers come Saturday tea-time, as Jon Dahl Tomasson beamed with delight come 5pm, after watching his side dispatch Queens Park Rangers, 3-1 down in London. The Dane revealed his delight at his side controlling the affair, to RoversTV.
“It’s been a great week. We’ve come to Queens Park Rangers, who have a new manager at an already difficult ground to play at. There was a lot of energy with the home fans, but the Rovers fans were equally great and they helped us achieve a hattrick of doubles this week. I’m delighted with today’s result, we all know that we truly deserve this win. We scored three excellent goals. Big Sam (Gallagher) grabbing a brace is great for him, as it is for Sammie (Szmodics). We saw two brilliant assists today, as well from Trav (Lewis Travis) and Joe (Rankin-Costello), who executed some fantasy movements, a PlayStation move, but I think it was a well-deserved victory overall.
“We played some good football and controlled the whole second-half and we’re delighted with the result. We now have a great game on Tuesday in the FA Cup against Leicester City. We should be looking forward to that game. We will be doing everything to win, but it will also be a great opportunity to write a new chapter into Rovers’ great history.
“We were very clinical this afternoon and we probably could have scored a few more. I was not happy with the goal we conceded, the way we lost the ball and the way we defended in the box, but on the other hand, I don’t think Aynsley (Pears) had a save to make afterwards, so that also says a lot about how front-footed the boys are. Every player deserves great credit today, because they all played a great game.
“Gally’s goals are great for his confidence. Every player, particularly strikers, need confidence. At the end of the day, he deserves those goals because he played an excellent game today. He worked hard for the team, as he does in every game, but he made some good runs in-behind today and was part of some great link-up play today, especially, so that’s great for him. We all know that things are tough when you don’t score for a while, especially as an attacker. He has high demands on himself, but I’m extremely happy for him that he scored two today.
“It’s important that not only the strikers contribute towards the goalscoring. We have 10 other players who should be contributing towards the goals, and I think the goals, the performance and the victory spreads confidence throughout the team. We have a great spirit and togetherness within the squad and three points gives the lads even more confidence.
“Football games are won and lost with moments. I think we deserved the goal on the stroke of half-time, for sure and it gave us the confidence going into half-time and the second-half. The way we controlled the game in the second-half was excellent. We shouldn’t forget that we’re missing a lot of players and the squad is quite stretched. We fielded an extremely young side, but we’re left with nothing but positivity. We’re maturing as the season goes on. I think we’re more consistent in 2023, than we were before Christmas and the World Cup. We’re not winning one week and losing the next, because we’re becoming more stable. Of course, we can still lose games in this great league because it’s such a difficult league, but we’re becoming more consistent at a higher level than before.
“1,100 fans travelling to London is amazing. They were brilliant today as always, but we need the fans. The support has been tremendous, and I have to say ‘Thank You’ to them.”
